How to do more with less

As our recently-published dossier sets out, the telecoms industry is doing its bit to limit global warming to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels by halving its carbon emissions by 2030.

But how can the industry do this while simultaneously improving its services and making them more accessible to under-served communities?

The answer, according to a new research note, has two parts.

Firstly, networks can use energy-efficient techniques. Advanced software can process signals more effectively, for example, and innovative cooling techniques can prevent unnecessary electricity consumption. Many of these techniques are already available as part of 5G but are not yet used as much as they could be as networks support legacy 2G, 3G, and 4G technologies.

But ultimately the industry will continue to need a lot of electricity, which leads to the second part of the answer: procuring electricity that was produced with renewable energy. The good news for CFOs is that the cost of doing so has now fallen to the point where finance is no longer a barrier.

The research note, Green telecoms: can it ever be sustainable?, is available to Spectrum Research Service subscribers here.