To ensure GSM telephone coverage throughout the Gulf region, telephone companies are opting to invest in Atlas Copco generating sets to supply electricity for the telephone masts operation.

Atlas Copco recently installed 10 generating sets for Bahrain’s second mobile services provider, MTC-Vodafone (Bahrain). The installation represented one of the important telecommunications breakthroughs for Atlas Copco in the Gulf region.  Other recent orders include seven sets to Oman’s second telecom provider Nawaras Telecom and a third Gulf-based company has taken delivery of 12 Atlas Copco sets. The MTC-Vodafone (Bahrain) order comprised eight stationary and two mobile QAS 28 generating sets with a standby rating of 30 kVA and was won against stiff international competition, an Atlas Copco spokesman said.
The sets provide emergency standby power for the new network across Bahrain, ensuring continuity of the service in the event of a mains failure. Mohammed Al-Khaja, senior manager for building services at MTC-Vodafone (Bahrain) explained: “Within weeks of being installed and commissioned, the sets had provided standby power for customers when Bahrain suffered a total ‘mains’ blackout lasting eight hours, and in part of the country up to 20 hours.”
“We are very happy with the quality and reliability of the QAS generators,” he said, adding, “We are committed to providing our customers with a world-class service and, with help from our partners, Atlas Copco, we were proudly able to meet our promise.”
Throughout the mains failure, the sets provided automatic power at eight repeater stations for telephone switching, lighting and air circulation. Both mobile sets provide additional backup if one of the eight sets fail or auxiliary back-up during maintenance shut downs.
The Atlas Copco sets are housed in acoustically-lined canopies to ensure reduced noise levels of 66 dB(A) at 7 metres; making the sets suitable for use at night in noise-sensitive locations and residential areas. The sets also feature an 18-hour fuel tank. One of the Atlas Copco sets provides standby power for a repeater station close to the Bapco refinery. In winning the order for the generating sets, local distributor Gulf Equipment & Technology (GET), also secured an Atlas Copco full-service contract with GET engineers responsible for monthly preventative maintenance and regular testing of the installation.
 “Reliability is the number one priority for us,” says a spokesman for one Gulf state company, adding, “To ensure that we get the best available product for our needs, we have a very substantial specification in our tender documents, which the supplier needs to meet. We work with an approved list of contractors which includes Atlas Copco.”
Part of the reliability aspects are demands that the equipment must cope with ambient temperatures of +50°C and a relative humidity of 100 per cent.
“The 12 generators are a crucial part for the operation of the GSM net in the area”, says the spokesman, adding, “to ensure that there is always an electrical power supply at hand two sets are installed for each mast at six remote locations across the state.”
In addition the company has a further five similarly rated Atlas Copco generators with two set aside to provide mobile standby power in the event of any sets failure.
“To ensure the uninterrupted GSM telephone service in these remote areas, the company has its own crew of service technicians that visit the masts every week according to a comprehensive maintenance management system. The 12 Atlas Copco QAS 108 units feature a Perkins 1006 –TG2 6-cylinder diesel engine rated at 91.5 kW to ensure a continuous apparent power of 100 kVA.