Manoj Kumar Upadhyay is an opportunist and a technologist at heart. With over fourteen years of expertise in the power and telecom sectors, he is always keen on finding new ways and applying them in his own innovative manner. In 2003, he founded Acme Tele Power with an aim to provide inventive, energy efficient, and environment friendly products for passive telecom infrastructure products. Under his leadership, the company has achieved distinction of holding seven patents and has an innovative product portfolio developed by their in-house R&D labs based in Manesar, Haryana, India, and by group companies in the US and Canada.

Recently, VOICE&DATA presented the 'Technovator of the year 2008' award to Manoj Upadhyay, founder and managing director, Acme Tele Power.

In an exclusive interview with VOICE&DATA, Manoj talks about Acme and its achievements in the past, future plans, and role of technology and innovation. Excerpts

How will you list your achievements in the last one-year?
Acme Tele Power has, since its inception in 2003, focused on providing innovative, cost-effective, energy-efficient, and environment-friendly passive infrastructure solutions for telecom. In terms of achievements, last year was very fruitful for us. Our major achievement in this period has been the launch of a comprehensive 'energy management solution'. Energy is the single largest cost incurred at telecom sites, especially in the developing world. Grid power is largely unreliable, especially in remote areas, and operators are heavily dependent on diesel generators. Power from a DG is not only expensive but also causes high levels of carbon emissions, leading to global warming. Our solutions are targeted to enhance cooling and reduce power consumption at base transmission sites. Acme's environment-friendly solutions have substantially reduced greenhouse gas emissions, which contribute to global warming.

What exactly is 'Green Shelter'? What kind of market is there for these kinds of products?
Acme's 'Green Shelter' concept is an integrated, packaged, energy management solution for telecom sites. The Acme Green Shelter houses the BTS and electronic equipment, and comprises four energy-efficient components, namely nano-coated solar reflective shelter, power interface unit (PIU), efficient AC systems with free cooling, and thermal management system with patented phase change material, providing 4 to 12 hours of thermal backup that reduce energy costs per site. The Green Shelter's specially coated outer skin provide greater insulation, is longer lasting, and offers better thermal resistance to solar gain than conventional shelters.

Green Shelter II and Green Shelter III are an extension of the Green Shelter concept pioneered by Acme, and a result of months of testing and research carried out by our R&D teams at the Manesar facility. The latest offering in this field, Multi Operator GS III, was a result of over 2,500 man-hours of extensive and concentrated R&D effort, in furtherance to the Green cause. The use of wood is completely avoided in the making of the Green Shelter and even the flooring is made up of special recycled plastics known as eco-flooring. The product is widely appreciated and today Bharti Airtel, among others, uses this product in many of its sites. The market is rapidly increasing for this highly beneficial solution.

There is a lot of awareness where green products are concerned. Do you think it'll sustain over time?
Green is in. With the catastrophic consequences of global warming through unbridled hydrocarbon usage becoming increasingly apparent, telecom operators are turning toward energy efficient solutions such as the innovative Acme passive infrastructure, not only because they are money saving, but also because they offer avenues toward good corporate citizenship. There is a misconception in some circles that green is expensive. Acme's main idea is to make the green approach financially rewarding for operators. I am confident that Green will sustain.

What according to you is the secret to innovation?
There is no big secret to innovation. The opportunities exist in our own environment. We just need to look for and identify the problems around us. For me, identifying the opportunities at the right time and working with dedication on the same is the only secret to innovation.

Can you please give details of the product patents awarded to you?
At present the total numbers of patents we hold are seven, which include-a process for preparation of phase change material (PCM) composition, power interface unit, cuboidal shaped green shelter, foldable shelter, DC telecom air conditioner, cold storage, and PCM (product). The last two patents are the most recent, and valid till 2025. The others are valid till 2024. Further, we have a number of patents in the pipeline but are unable to disclose details at the moment.

How do you see the R&D in your company moving in the next 2-3 years?
We are primarily focused on energy management and our R&D is geared toward improving and diversifying the range of our solutions in this area. We will continue to find new ways to improve telecom site opex costs. We are also actively exploring options in alternate energy such as fuel cells, solar, and wind power.

What kind of growth opportunities are you seeking after your recent collaboration with Nokia Siemens Networks to provide energy efficient radio cellsite solutions to telecom operators?
The collaboration is aimed at supporting operators' market penetration strategies and providing opportunities to further improve the energy efficiency of their networks. Our expertise in cost and energy efficient passive infrastructure solutions complements Nokia Siemens Networks' leadership in energy efficient radio networks. We are jointly working to innovate in order to offer efficient operation, maintenance, and energy management solutions to telecom operators, especially in emerging markets where cost effective rural connectivity is the key to telecom expansion. It is also proposed to establish a joint development lab in India to examine future opportunities, specifically around remote energy monitoring solutions.

What are your future plans for India vis-à-vis at the global level?
The telecom sector in India holds incomparable potential. In the next three years, an estimated 300,000 telecom towers and 600,000 BTS sites are expected to be added. Similar growth is anticipated pan Africa, South-East Asia, and Latin America where our business model can be replicated and where we are gradually acquiring presence.

In order to expand our product portfolio, we recently acquired Reime of Norway. The acquisition has not only extended our product portfolio but has also ensured our presence in seven African countries where we are expanding substantially.

I am, therefore, confident that we will continue to grow and expand our operations in the coming years. Furthermore, we also hope to increase our profitability by exploring options of claiming carbon credits for our energy efficient, environment friendly products. We are also diversifying into energy management services and turnkey solutions for telecom operators in the passive infrastructure area. We are actively exploring opportunities in the distributed power generation area through technology initiatives such as fuel cells, micro turbines, and solar thermal energy ventures. We are in the process of commercializing alkaline fuel cells under development at our laboratories.

Jatinder Singh
jatinders@cybermedia.co.in