India’s largest telecom tower provider Indus Towers aims to have 100,000 towers powered by solar energy by financial year 2028-29 (FY29), with the Bharti group-backed company crossing the 50,000 tower mark from its current base of 280,000 towers as of September 2026. Indus started using solar power for its towers in mid-FY24. At current levels, the installations generate 300 megawatt (Mw), sustaining the power demand for the existing sites as well as mitigating the expense increase seen by the company due to the rise in diesel costs, said its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD & CEO) Prachur Sah in an interaction with Gulveen Aulakh.
Indus is aggressively using artificial intelligence (AI) to improve operating metrics, which will result in lower operating costs over time. Sah added that Indus venturing into Africa, with three markets, was aimed at being a long-term play with greenfield tower installations at lower costs, which would make the case attractive for African carriers. Edited excerpts:
How is Indus looking to mitigate the impact of rising fuel costs due to the West Asia conflict?
We have 50,000 solar-powered sites generating energy, with a total installed capacity of 300 Mw. Based on our research, it’s the largest and we’re the first company to reach this kind of a benchmark globally. Traditionally, towers have been charged with electricity, diesel, and batteries. We started ramping up about two and a half years ago. Our ambition is to get 100,000 (solar-powered towers) by FY29. This not only reduces cost, but actually cuts emissions. Secondly, in the first half (H1) of FY27, we have reduced our diesel consumption by 11 per cent compared to H1FY26 through a combination of solar, fuel, batteries, and AI usage for energy management. This is substantial, given the fact that there was a significant rise in diesel prices. So, we have been able to actually negate the increase of prices through this management. Some sites in J&K, for instance, are self-sustaining as they run on only solar and batteries, without the need for diesel.
Is it extending into batteries?
So, two-three years ago, we took a holistic view of our energy operations, and we made some strategic decisions. One was solar deployment. Second was transitioning from the old lead-acid kind of batteries to lithium ion. That is a journey that we have started. So, we are moving where all the sites will become lithium ion over the next few years. The whole idea is to enable fast charging at the sites so we can store energy. This allows us to provide reliable uptime to the customer, meaning the tower essentially never goes down.
With telco capex moving towards capacity, is AI usage leading tower demand in any way? And is AI being used in tower management?
In the second quarter (Q2) of FY27, we rolled out 3,000 towers and 8,000 tenancies. We have a healthy order book. The second customer’s (Vodafone Idea’s) rollouts are also starting to catch up. Payments too are coming through. Right of way is also getting better, so there’s no constraint. Data usage will surely drive the tower demand, and we are meeting the requirements of customers (telcos) accordingly. But in-house we’re leveraging AI to connect all our towers, and we have full visibility of all electrical equipment on sites. So, if there’s an issue at a solar site, the system generates a ticket and we get it fixed immediately. We have almost 250,000 sites that are transmitting real-time data.
What is the road map for Africa expansion?
We started with three countries in Africa—Nigeria, Zambia, and Uganda—having our licences to operate there. In September, we did our first set in Uganda and Zambia. Africa is a long-term strategy for us. The idea is to pursue greenfield expansion, differentiate ourselves through lower capex per tower, and reduce energy costs. That’s the plan of expansion over the next few years. Africa is a growth opportunity and it’s a growing market, so it will remain relevant for us for a long time.
Will expansion be beyond the three countries?
Once we have established our footprint there, then we will see how things pan out.
How is AI being used to improve tower management or metrics?
There’s a lot of work that we are currently doing using AI to change how we operate, change the way it is done. We want to set a benchmark in terms of how we operate the tower for our customers. We are doing a lot of AI-based image and video analytics validation work at the sites. This will not only enhance operational productivity, but also improve safety, particularly during critical events like floods. AI is being deployed for site maintenance and supervision. Now since a lot of our sites are connected, you can have two-way communications with the sites. This helps in inventory management. We have also installed sensors in all our diesel generators, allowing you to monitor fuel levels in real time. With this information at hand, you can easily determine exactly how many litres are needed for refill. So, two years down the line, how we operate our towers will fundamentally change.
