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Plug supplying 200 systems to Indian wireless company

 Thursday, July 23, 2009

The Business Review ( Albany

Plug Power Inc. will supply a major wireless provider in India with 200 of its GenSys systems to power cell tower sites.

The Latham, N.Y.-based fuel-cell developer (Nasdaq: PLUG) will begin initial deliveries of the systems to Wireless TT Info Services Ltd. in the fourth quarter of 2009. All 200 units should be shipped by March 2010. The deal, which includes a five-year service and maintenance agreement, is one of the largest commercial contracts in Plug Power’s history, company officials said.

Mark Sperry, vice president and general manager of Plug Power’s Continuous Power Division, said India expects to add 50,000 telecommunications towers over the next three to five years.

“We view this anchor order as the first step in capturing a substantial portion of this large and growing opportunity in India ,” Sperry said.

GenSys is a continuous-run power source designed for cell-tower sites that have little or no electric grid service.

Wireless TT Info Services Ltd. is an arm of Tata Teleservices Ltd., one of India ’s major telecommunications operators. Col. Ramanand.B, chief operating officer of Wireless TT, said the GenSys units will be used at locations that do not have access to power.

“I am excited at the prospects of installing these fuel cells in our network and look forward to increasing the numbers in the near future,” he said.