Swedish tech giant Ericsson has updated an environmentally friendly design for base stations by adding wind turbine technology to the system.

The Ericsson Tower Tube concept, first announced last year, is basically a more streamlined approach to the standard radio communications tower. Rather than having multiple antennas protruding from the structure, according to Ericsson the Tower Tube design encloses all the equipment in an "aesthetically pleasing concrete tower".

This week, Ericsson announced an update to the standard Tower Tube design with the addition of a four-blade wind turbine with five-metre blades vertically attached to the tower. As opposed to the horizontally attached blades on a standard wind turbine, Ericsson claims the vertical rotor blades work silently and minimise the load on the tower during operation.

"Combining wind power with Ericsson's Tower Tube brings further opportunities to support mobile communication in both urban and remote areas with no or limited access to the electricity grid. Ericsson's wind-powered Tower Tube research initiative reflects our ambition to use our technical leadership to drive sustainable telecom expansion and deliver communication for all," said Ulf Ewaldsson, vice president and head of product area radio at Ericsson.

Ericssson claims the Tower Tube has a smaller footprint and lower environmental impact than traditional steel towers, with CO2 emissions related to materials – such as production and transportation – that are at least 30 per cent lower.