Can telecommunications operators achieve their sustainability goals?

Impact Of 5g Networks

In recent years, 5G – the fifth generation of wireless technology – has come to the fore. The technology has brought automation to a range of industries, including healthcare, manufacturing, and retail. What’s more, 5G networks allow Internet of Things (IoT) devices to communicate and share data faster than ever before. They have also played a significant role in the development of autonomous transportation and augmented reality.

The rollout of 5G networks has also provided some sustainability advantages. Research from the telecommunications giant Nokia found 5G to be 90 per cent more energy efficient than comparable legacy 4G ecosystems. Also, when transmitting the same amount of data, 5G cell sites consume just 15 per cent of the energy compared to a 4G cell site. Because of this, a swift transition to 5G globally could save up to 0.5 billion tonnes of CO₂ by 2030.

Ultimately, 5G ecosystems will consume more energy than their predecessors due to the increased network density, reliance on complex IT infrastructure, and far greater volumes of network data traffic. The expansion of 5G is expected to cause a substantial rise in data, as business and consumer adoption of applications and services continues to grow significantly at a rapid pace. In fact, recent predictions have indicated the increased use of 5G networks will result in a rise of around 160 per cent in power requirements by 2030, which has broad implications for sustainability. This is due to the flexibility of 5G in both consumer and industrial settings, as well as the energy demands of the powerful network components which comprise 5G ecosystems, such as edge servers and massive multiple-input multiple-output (Massive MIMO) technology.

As an increasing number of organisations are exploring methods to improve sustainability value propositions within their business practices, many are seeing the adoption of 5G-enabled services as a way to achieve important efficiency goals that will lead to a drop off in consumption and emissions. This provides telcos with an opportunity, as enterprises continue to place a greater level of importance on energy efficiency when carriers launch 5G networks.

Meeting Net Zero Goals

To realise energy and cost savings, carriers will need to evaluate network operations throughout their entire online infrastructure. This will ensure that everything, from networks to software, is optimised. The priority for telcos is to integrate sustainability across the entire organisation. This will enable businesses to make incremental, but no less important, developments. To achieve this, enterprises must adhere to best practices aimed at key areas of the ecosphere, such as network technology, infrastructure, and visibility. When it comes to network technology, organisations should make use of hardware and software that has been designed to operate both efficiently and effectively. In terms of infrastructure, enterprises must find a way to maximise this when taking into account the effect edge data centre and cloud environments will have. And lastly, looking at visibility, businesses must attain end-through-end visibility via next-generation solutions capable of measuring, monitoring, enhancing, and automating the whole network.

Telcos will want to take a comprehensive view of the entire infrastructure, connecting key performance indicators (KPIs) to individual business units so as net zero efforts can be prioritised. To implement a sustainabilityfocused mentality throughout the organisation, it’s imperative for carriers to have accurate metrics so they can fully comprehend the most efficient and effective way to embed their chosen strategy.

The Need To Gain Visibility

To meet net zero objectives, carriers require end-through-end visibility that enables them to establish sustainability-specific KPI priorities. They should strongly consider implementing a solution that can provide network visibility. This will enable telcos to monitor traffic levels and analyse applications for KPIs associated with responsiveness, inaccuracies, and service dependencies by market, through each of the network layers – all the way down to cell sites and subscribers.

With these invaluable insights, telcos will be in a stronger position to make knowledgeable and wellinformed decisions directly related to their sustainability goals.

For telcos, meeting sustainability and power efficiency targets is no easy task. Nevertheless, implementing a strategy that puts businesses in a position of strength to achieve these objectives – without compromising performance or service quality – is essential when it comes to setting priorities and goals for greater sustainability and power efficiency.