Pakistani telco firm Jazz has partnered with Chinese tech giant Huawei to install solar panels at 1,000 mobile base stations across Pakistan.
The deal, announced at Mobile World Congress, will see Jazz deploy Huawei’s iSolar technology across the sites. According to the telco, the solar installations will reduce energy costs by as much as 96 percent. The deployments are expected to be completed within the coming months.
Jazz CEO Admir Ibrahim claims the project will facilitate the telco’s transition to sustainable telecom network infrastructure, supporting its goal of being completely carbon neutral by 2050.
“We are dedicated to delivering an ideal experience for our customers while mitigating our environmental footprint,” he said in a statement.
Phillip Gan, president of Huawei Middle East and Central Asia region of Huawei added: “We are proud to partner with VEON and Jazz on the iSolar project, setting a new benchmark for green energy adoption in telecom industry."
The solar deployment is expected to serve as a scalable model for future expansion, offering a replicable framework that can be extended.
Last year, Jazz secured a PKR 75 billion ($270 million) loan to support its network upgrades in Pakistan.
Jazz is Pakistan's biggest mobile carrier, with more than 71 million subscribers.
The company, previously known as Mobilink, was founded in 1994 as part of a joint venture between Saif Group and Motorola. In February 2001, Egypt-based Orascom Investment Holding bought Motorola’s shares in Jazz to become the majority shareholder with 69 percent control before eventually acquiring full control of the company a few years later.
Dubai-headquartered Veon acquired the majority of Orascom’s telco assets in 2010, including Jazz, as part of a $6.5 billion deal.
