Optus, the second largest wireless carrier in Australia, has partnered with Delta Electronics under the Eltek brand to launch a new battery-based “critical power extender” called the Yes! CPX to power their transmission hubs when main power falls during natural disasters.

The CPX is expected to provide extra 10 to 20 hours of power to downstream mobile sites to enable continuity of service in case of a grid failure. This is crucial for Optra given that they have more than 10.5 million subscribers across Australia.

However, “the unit isn’t exclusive to Optus,” according to Optus Managing Director, Lambo Kanagaratnam. “And we hope that companies with critical infrastructure around the world can improve the resiliency of their operations with this innovation,” he added.  

After nine months of consultation and five successful trial installations, CPX units are now deployed initially to 40 sites as part of the broader Optus 2022 Transmission Hub Resiliency project.  

“The 10 to 20 hours can give power authorities the time to restore services or allow Optus to access a site safely with a portable generator, especially if the area is impacted by extreme weather or natural disaster,” Kanagaratnam stated, with regards to the importance that the Yes! CPX can bring on the table.

The executive stressed that, “we prioritise our efforts to improve the resiliency of our network, knowing customers need our services to be reliable, especially during incidents and extreme events. Time and time again, we are challenged, such as by Victoria’s recent extreme communications.”

He also added that, “every tower in our network is ‘critical’ – particularly to those whose coverage relies on it. About a third of our towers are transmission hubs, meaning other sites rely on it and if power to a hub site goes down, connectivity to many other sites may also go down. So, we are starting our installation at these transmission hub sites.”

The main purpose of the Yes! CPX is to monitor the existing battery backup for the critical transmission hub equipment. The moment it detects the existing batteries that are near depletion, it automatically provides another 10-20 hours of back-up power for the critical hub equipment, depending on the hub’s configuration and load.

Yes! CPX, according to Optra, combines switching smarts with high power density lithium-ion batteries to do the job. It is only placed in a transmission rack with the critical hub equipment thereby saving time and eliminating extra costs to engage an electrician for 240V AC works. It is also rechargeable and will last for up to 10 years, making it truly cost efficient.

Kanagaratnam expressed: “Motivated by our desire to keep customers connected, Optus employees have conceptualised an innovative solution that will keep transmission for connected mobile services longer.”