Momentum continues to build for sustainability in the telecommunications industry. Progress can be seen in investments in sustainable technology and reductions in carbon emissions directly from operations. However, some of the most critical markets have yet to join the movement, according to a report by GSMA Intelligence, “Mission Sustainable: 5G Efficiencies and the Green Network.”
Sustainability has become part of the conversation in the C Suite. Commitment rates to key international benchmarks have increased over the last 12 months, leading to carbon-neutral targets at operators that account for 50 percent of global telecoms revenue, up from three percent in 2020. The remaining half of the industry is in Asia, Africa and Latin America, which have populous high growth markets.
“These regions will continue to experience emissions pressures over the next decade from their high growth economies and reliance on fossil fuels where renewable energy capacity is limited,” the report reads. “For the telecoms industry to remain on course for net zero by 2050 (which requires a 50 percent CO₂ emissions reduction between 2020 and 2030), climate action must spread south and east over the near term.”
It Ain’t Easy Being Green
Beyond the sustainability commitments, the report details the serious paradox that operators face with 5G. Major equipment suppliers claim macrocells reduce energy use by 50 percent, but next generation technology is driving increasing mobile data traffic and energy usage that offsets that improvement.
“Higher speeds and bandwidth-heavy applications (video streaming, AR and VR) will drive monthly data usage per customer up nearly 3 times versus 4G smartphones. Although global 5G adoption will only be 25 percent of total connections by 2025, the impact on overall data traffic levels will be disproportionately higher,” the report reads.
On the positive side, energy efficiency is at the top of the list of requirements operators have when buying new equipment. And there are several trends at work that will reduce the amount of Watts wireless uses. Most important to tower owners, operators are shutting down networks and rationalizing spectrum use to simplify their tower sites. Also, artificial intelligence provides action information that allows the operator to run equipment at peak efficiency. And software upgrades are extending the lifespan of equipment on the tower.
“Efforts over the last decade around software-defined networking have helped centralize network intelligence and control at the software layer, in turn standardizing hardware,” the report reads. “Older, physical equipment does not need to be disposed of if it can be upgraded via software. This reduces e-waste – a major hidden environmental cost.”
By J. Sharpe Smith, Inside Towers Technology Editor
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