In this paper an overview of novel scavenging approaches for almost autonomous ICT applications will be discussed and evaluated in terms of efficiency, integrability, cost and applicability in rugged environments. Various frequencies of potential scavenged power will be tested and different electronic scavenging configurations will be presented and becnchmarked in comparison to commonly used approaches, such as solar cells or electromechanical couples. Their performance will be evaluated in metal-rich multipath indoor environments, as well as in multi-users outdoor and indoor rural and urban topologies.