GSMA and International Finance Corporation Partner to Support Investment in the Renewable Energy Base Station Market

HONG KONG, November 18 - The GSMA, the body that represents the worldwide mobile
communications industry, today announced that its Green Power for Mobile
(GPM) programme is working with the International Finance Corporation (IFC),
the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, to support mobile operators
in exploring the use of renewable energy base stations as a means of
optimizing capital and operating expenditures. Through this collaboration,
mobile operators in developing markets can benefit from technical assistance
programmes, market research, and knowledge sharing programmes to help them
implement large scale renewable energy powered networks.

The overall goal is to make cost effective renewable energy solutions a
widely used power source for off-grid locations by 2012. The initiative
offers a direct way to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy in
off-grid parts of the developing world. IFC plans to identify and pursue
green power investments that expand the mobile industry's use of renewable
energy powered networks in developing countries. IFC will act independently
as an anchored investor, offering developing country mobile operators a
variety of financial instruments to enable the implementation of viable
business models that leverage renewable power for long term efficiency gains.

"We have estimated that mobile operators across the developing
world will incur a US$14.6 billion diesel bill from powering off-grid base
stations by 2012," said Rob Conway, CEO and Member of the Board, GSMA.
"Working together with IFC, we hope to address this by helping mobile
operators to expand network coverage into remote regions, deploy renewable
energy base stations, reduce their energy costs and minimise impact on the
environment."

"IFC is delighted to collaborate with GSMA to enable the
expansion of mobile coverage to remote regions and the under-served in the
developing world, thus bridging the digital divide, based on the highest
standards for a sustainable environment," said Mohsen Khalil, Director of the
joint World Bank/IFC Global Information and Communication Technologies
Department, the unit responsible for the IFC partnership.

Through the relationship, GPM will offer a Feasibility Study
service to mobile operators with an interest in increasing their use of green
power solutions. The service involves a technical and financial analysis of
an operator's base station network to identify priority candidate sites and
optimum renewable energy technology, to forecast capital expenditure and
return on investment, and assist with implementation planning. GPM will also
be developing training curriculums to provide further technical assistance
and educate mobile operators in the process of implementing renewable energy
base stations.

GPM has also set up a dynamic and evolving database to monitor
the progress that the industry is making towards reaching the GPM target of
powering 118,000 new and existing off-grid base stations in developing
countries using renewable energy sources by 2012. The industry database of
green base station deployments includes details on equipment used,
approximate payback period, challenges and successes, and can be viewed at
www.wirelessintelligence.com/green-power.

An industry report which will be published twice a year will
provide a regular update of developments within the sector featuring operator
case studies, vendor points of view, interviews, technology analysis and best
practice guides - the first issue can be found at
www.gsmworld.com/documents/gpfm_report_09_annual_review.pdf

About the GSMA

The GSMA represents the interests of the worldwide mobile
communications industry. Spanning 219 countries, the GSMA unites nearly 800
of the world's mobile operators, as well as more than 200 companies in the
broader mobile ecosystem, including handset makers, software companies,
equipment providers, Internet companies, and media and entertainment
organisations. The GSMA is focused on innovating, incubating and creating new
opportunities for its membership, all with the end goal of driving the growth
of the mobile communications industry.

For more information, please visit Mobile World Live, the new
online portal for the mobile communications industry, at
www.mobileworldlive.com or the GSMA corporate website at
www.gsmworld.com

About IFC

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the
World Bank Group, fosters sustainable economic growth in developing countries
by supporting private sector development, mobilising private capital, and
providing advisory and risk mitigation services to businesses and
governments. IFC's new investments totalled US$15 billion in fiscal 2009,
helping channel capital into developing countries during the financial
crisis. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.

GSMA: Richard Fogg: +44-7887-845-236; Daniel Lowther: +44-7747-636-687; press at gsm.org