Veon-owned Bangladeshi telco Banglalink has installed a 50kW rooftop solar array at its Cumilla data center, located in eastern Bangladesh.

The system was installed on 2,500 sq ft (232 sqm) of previously unused rooftop space and is expected to generate approximately 85,000kWh of electricity on an annual basis. According to the company, this will reduce the data center’s grid electricity consumption by around six percent.

The company also claims that the solar array will reduce its carbon emissions by 52 tons a year.

The telco operator was reportedly the first in the country to deploy on-site solar power at one of its data center facilities. It has also installed an 80 kW solar array at its data center in Gazipur, which was completed last year.

“By integrating solar power into our critical operations, we are reducing emissions, optimizing energy costs, and strengthening the long-term sustainability of our network,” said Hüseyin Türker, chief technology and information officer of Banglalink. “At Banglalink, sustainability is not just an environmental commitment; it is a business imperative.”

Banglalink is Bangladesh’s third-largest mobile network operator. It is wholly owned by Veon, a multinational telco company headquartered in Dubai.

In May 2024, the company confirmed the shutdown of its 3G network, stating that it would now focus on expanding its 4G mobile network.

The 3G shutdown followed the finalized sale of 2,000 telecom towers in Bangladesh to Summit Towers as part of a $100 million deal.

On-site solar is becoming an increasingly popular option for telco and data center operators. In 2024, Oman Data Park (ODP) tapped Omani solar developer Solar Wadi to develop an on-site 1.4MW solar project to directly power its KOM 4 data center in Rusayl, Oman.