The big challenge facing operators today is how to cost-efficiently build, expand and modernise networks to meet increasing subscriber growth and capacity demands, without increasing their carbon footprint.
This is the view of Jan "Ogren, vice-president and head of network roll-out at Ericsson's global services business unit. “To take responsibility for a sustainable future is a sustainable business,” he says.
“Telecom operators need to cut costs while still considering their environmental and social responsibilities and ensuring their customers are happy with the services offered.”
According to "Ogren, fluctuating energy prices, upcoming carbon legislation and related penalties are foreseen in many countries. He adds that their image and the perception of the companies' shareholders, customers, and stakeholders, can influence their share price.
Malan Smith, NSN head of networks systems for the African sub-region, says communications service providers (CSPs) are becoming increasingly aware of their networks' energy consumption. “There is also growing pressure on CSPs to reduce their power consumption for environmental reasons, and to run their networks in a smarter, cleaner way.”
Sharing for savings
Ericsson says operators can support their growing business while balancing concerns around carbon emissions by modernising and optimising networks, sharing assets and resources, and changing the energy mix.
radio access network sharing.”
He adds that for the different levels described, the parties could also share operational activities and maintenance.
Smith notes that for CSPs looking to cover new markets in areas where grid connectivity is limited or non-existent, there is an opportunity to use alternative energy solutions.
“In developing economies, almost a quarter of new cell sites will be 'off the power grid', he says. “With the unpredictable cost of fuel and the location of these sites, there are significant financial and environmental benefits to looking at renewable power solutions, in addition to the energy efficiency of products or equipment.”
Ericsson recently released a new approach for measuring carbon emissions, aimed at operators facing challenges such as environmental pressure, volatile fuel prices, and potential carbon taxes, while expanding their networks to keep pace with growth.
According to "Ogren, the TCO2 approach builds on a total-cost-of-ownership calculation, combined with an analysis on how to reduce carbon emissions. He says the tool helps operators adapt the sources of energy in a stepwise fashion, by looking first at network design, finding alternative ways of building the network, and which has the least environmental impact.
Multitasking
Ericsson points out that the ICT industry has great potential as a means of reducing carbon emissions in both its own and other industries. To explain this, the company uses the '2% and the 98%' concept. “The ICT industry is estimated to be responsible for about 2% of global CO2 emissions today, and it is vital to decrease this footprint. The remaining 98% comes from other industries, such as energy production and supply, transport, or construction,” it says.
Smith notes that while the telecoms industry is taking serious measures to improve its energy efficiency, its footprint only creates 2% of global CO2 emissions. “It is imperative that attention is also turned to the remaining 98%, and to the benefits ICT can bring to other business sectors.”
He argues that increased use of ICT in society can have a positive impact on the environment, and cites the Smart 2020 report saying: “ICT's own footprint will double by 2020, but this is countered by the sector's ability to cut CO2 emissions by up to five times its own footprint.”
According to Smith, ICT can reduce greenhouse gases across a range of industry sectors through initiatives such as dematerialisation and smart logistics, transportation, manufacturing and grids.
“The potential of ICT to have a positive impact on climate change has been recognised by many global studies, but this has to be brought to the attention of governments, so they can take this into consideration when defining environmental policies,” notes Smith. “In a favourable business environment, maximising the positive impact of ICT supports environmentally sustainable development and makes other sectors more intelligent.”
"Ogren agrees, saying the smart use of communications technology can help other sectors reduce their carbon emissions. “For example, teleconferencing to reduce travel and using mobile broadband to enable education, governmental services, and smart traffic solutions.
“Ericsson foresees 50 billion connected devices in the future - a multitude of applications that man and machine can use to facilitate life, and to empower a new way of working, travelling, and educating,” he adds.
According to "Ogren, telecommunications enable a simple human right - the right to communicate. The way people choose to use that technology, by using video conferencing instead of travel; letting smart traffic systems monitor and steer traffic; and enabling virtual health solutions, are all examples of innovative uses of network technology that are smart from an environmental point of view, he concludes.
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