Phil-Tower has decommissioned 50% of its diesel generators from the portfolio, investing in backup power resources and actionable data insights to create a more efficient and sustainable power and cooling operating model.
This is according to Phil-Tower and its AI data insights partner PowerX, who announced a partnership in November 2023 to optimise tower infrastructure performance of Phil-Tower sites.
Since their partnership was announced, Phil-Tower formed a JV with MIESCOR Infrastructure Development Corporation (MIDC) in February, increasing site count from 1,500 – 3,000. The transaction is understood to have had regulatory approval last month.
Aspirations are high. The new operation is committed to build 2,000 build-to-suit (BTS) towers within the next three years, potentially lifting its tower count to upwards of 5,000 towers if new build commitments are honoured from past sale leaseback transactions with Smart and Globe, two of the Philippines three-MNO players.
Site changes
Phil-Tower’s existing tower footprint has seen diesel generators be removed across 50% of its locations, transitioning to battery backup systems. This has helped create US$500,000 in opex savings, whilst removing 700 tonnes in CO2 emissions. These modifications have resulted in lowered maintenance costs, decreased Mean Time to Repair by 30%, and increased network availability to 99.98%.
Phil-Tower is investing over US$2.8mn into battery replacements. These upgrades are set to optimise backup capabilities while right-sizing capex. Automated reporting and decision-making processes has also reduced operational workloads and improved the efficiency of alarm and trouble ticket management through closed-loop operational workflows.
“Applying data science tools and optimisations to over a thousand sites within half a year is a significant milestone for PhilTower,” said Devid Gubiani, CEO, PhilTower. “Our commitment to digitalisation has transformed our network, enabling rapid sale and leaseback transitioning, full remote asset visibility, efficient operations, and data-driven decisions that optimise capex and opex - passing those savings to our customers while increasing uptime by three hours per site per month.”
Environmentally sustainable power
Phil-Tower is also further modernising its power infrastructure and deploying energy and cooling sustainably through hybrid power installations, solar energy integration, cooling optimisations, and power system consolidations. Phil-Tower predicts these changes could potentially help accrue savings of over US$1.5mn in the coming year. The installation of environmentally sustainable power infrastructure could also help reduce CO2 emissions by nearly 10,000 tons annually.
“We now have the tools to maximise asset leverage and drive revenue, creating a 21st-century tower network with next-generation maintenance and proactive energy efficiency plans,” continued Gubiani. “With PowerX, we optimise our distributed assets using a range of KPIs and have set ambitious targets to deliver substantial growth and value to our stakeholders, including unparalleled service to our mobile operators and ambitious carbon reduction initiatives.”
“We are delighted that PhilTower is seeing immediate and strategic benefits from the data-driven optimisations and automation provided by the PowerX platform,” Andrew Schafer, CEO, PowerX commented.
“This collaboration highlights our pioneering role in leveraging deep data analytics, AI, and machine learning to deliver outstanding network efficiency. The PowerX platform has empowered PhilTower’s teams to drive operational excellence, enhancing asset and energy performance and integrating data intelligence for future energy programs. Together, we are raising the bar, setting a new standard for network intelligence and site efficiency in the Philippines,” he concluded.
