Several different initiatives are being employed to increase sustainability telecom equipment manufacturers, according to ABI Research. Traditional OEMs are employing eco-design principles, using less aluminum and other materials while making equipment lightweight, modular, and compact for simplified installation and tower sharing. “The leaders are designing and making energy efficient radios and equipment with specialized silicon and integrated, intelligent, and programmable hardware and software,” said Kim Johnson, Sustainable Technologies Principal Analyst at ABI Research.
For example, Ericsson and Nokia have 5G smart factories that have been recognized as pioneers by McKinsey and the World Economic Forum. The Ericsson USA 5G smart factory runs on 100 percent renewable energy with integrated environmental systems that reduce energy consumption by 24 percent and water use by 75 percent. Nokia’s 5G “factory of the future” in Oulu, Finland, uses Nokia’s private wireless networks for IoT analytics and a real-time digital twin of factory operations data.
“In addition to supporting sustainable manufacturing and operational practices, all the companies in the Sustainability Assessment are focused on breaking the 5G energy curve,” Johnson said. “These companies are leading the way for advancing network technologies and performance, while reducing energy consumption and global carbon emissions.”
Traditional network equipment vendors are likely to be the best positioned to help telcos improve their overall sustainability strategies and achieve climate targets, according to a report entitled “The Sustainability Assessment: Telco Technology Suppliers” from ABI Research.
“However, the other supplier groups are increasingly contributing to the sustainability of telco networks every day and should not be underestimated, given the complexities of the sustainability challenge and the innovation needed to advance to net zero carbon emissions,” Johnson said.
Across all the telco equipment categories, the leaders that demonstrated the most capabilities in their products and services for improving telecommunication operators’ sustainability are Ericsson, Nokia, Huawei, ZTE, Samsung, Intel, Qualcomm, NEC, Mavenir, Cisco, Fujitsu, Rakuten Symphony, CommScope, Dell, AMD, IBM (Red Hat), VMware, Airspan, Parallel Wireless, and Schneider Electric.
By J. Sharpe Smith, Inside Towers Technology Editor
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