Green Telecom: Sustainability Initiatives Shaping the Industry
Adopting sustainable initiatives for a greener tomorrow is not an option anymore, but it’s more of a deliberate choice. To achieve those eco-friendly goals, many internet service providers and telecom operators are spearheading sustainability by utilizing renewable energy sources.
Harnessing the power of energy-efficient technology, smart power management systems, utilization of renewable energy and eco-friendly consumables are crucial for the successful implementation of a green telecom network.
The Environmental Impact Of Telecommunications
Telecommunications is a broad term that includes telephony, mobile and internet services and technologies. Even though these services have revolutionized communication, the network infrastructure and operations have a massive carbon footprint.
For instance, as per GSMA, a mobile connection emits 59 kilograms (kg) of carbon dioxide annually. In contrast, a flight from London to Berlin emits about 600 kg of carbon dioxide. Furthermore, the organization projected that mobile operators emit about 490 million tons of carbon dioxide, equivalent to over 50 million cars on the road in a year. The organization also claims that the radio access network (RAN) consumes 73% of energy, while the core, data centers and operations use 13%, 9%, and 5%, respectively.
The Need For Green Telecommunications
As the world started to understand the horrific impact of climate change and the dire need for a sustainable future, they are embracing eco-friendly practices. That also includes the telecommunication sector, which is responsible for extensive networks and data centers. Here’s why telecom needs to go green.
Reduced Carbon Footprint
For decades traditional infrastructure has been built on materials and practices that emit greenhouse gases that are harmful to the environment. On the eco-friendly alternative, the telecommunication industry can significantly reduce its carbon footprint.
Energy Efficiency
Having a green infrastructure significantly enhances energy operations, decreasing energy costs and consumption. Not only does it promote sustainability, but it’s cost-effective for all the telecom businesses.
Positive Brand Image
Adopting eco-friendly and sustainable practices ensures a better and positive image for telecommunication companies. Since everyone understands the dire importance of eco-friendly materials and practices, they appreciate such steps toward sustainability, resulting in building customer loyalty.
The Role Of Eco-Friendly Materials
Revolutionizing transformation towards eco-friendly telecommunication requires the need for sustainable materials. Here are some of the useful materials that are a cardinal part of this innovative initiative.
1. Recycled Plastics
Plastic waste is a major problem for the environment. As a matter of fact, it takes 500 years or more to biodegrade completely. By utilizing recycled plastics in their telecom infrastructure, telecom, and internet service providers can significantly reduce their carbon footprint.
2. Renewable Energy Sources
Telecom operators are increasingly adopting renewable energy sources to power up their networks and data centers. For instance, solar power reduces the dependence on carbon-emitted fossil fuels. The utilization of such energy sources contributes to a more sustainable future for the environment.
3. Bio-Based Materials
Bio-based materials leverage agricultural waste or biofuels, which are sustainable alternatives to traditional materials based on fossil fuels. These materials have gained significant popularity in recent years because of their ability to reduce carbon footprints.
Energy-Efficient Innovations That Shape The Future
This initiative not only reduces energy consumption but also fosters sustainability in the telecom industry. Following are the key innovations that bring a positive change to climate change.
Energy-Efficient Base Stations
Base stations are essential to operate telecommunication networks. The traditional base station consumes a large amount of energy to deliver and maintain seamless connectivity throughout the specific area. However, the introduction of energy-efficient base stations paves the way for sustainable telecommunication networking. There are advanced technologies, such as smart power management systems and renewable energy sources, that significantly reduce energy consumption.
The primary purpose of deploying smart power management systems is to optimize energy consumption. This innovative technology adapts and adjusts the power as per the changing demands of the network. That minimizes energy waste, leading to reduced operational costs.
Solar panels, wind turbines and other renewable energy sources are integrated into base stations, which reduces the dependency on traditional energy sources and minimizes carbon footprints.
Energy Harvesting Technologies
Recently, this advanced technology has gained tremendous popularity in the telecommunication sector, paving the way for an energy-efficient future. This state-of-the-art technology scavenges ambient energy to fuel telecommunication devices, which significantly decreases the dependency on replacing batteries, leading to environmental wastage.
Kinetic energy scavengers have the potential to transform vibration into electrical energy. This could be in the form of human movements or vehicle traffic. It helps power up small devices such as communication equipment and wireless sensors.
Solar-powered devices have gained tremendous traction that leverage photovoltaic technology to generate power from sunlight. With solar energy integration into the telecommunication infrastructure fulfills the energy demands, leading to eco-friendly operations.
The adoption of energy harvesting technology paves the way for the reduction of e-waste. That ultimately leads to a prolonged lifespan of batteries and mitigates the battery replacement needs.
Software-Defined Network (SDN)
With the separation of control planes from data planes, the Software-Defined Network (SDN) is revolutionizing the telecommunication industry. That results in efficiency in utilizing the resources. With the help of this advanced technology, centralization is offered, which paves the way for optimized network operations.
SDN supplements telecommunication networks to adopt energy consumption based on the generated demand and traffic patterns. This level of flexible adoption enables energy to deliver power where and when it’s needed, minimizing waste and optimizing efficiency.
SDN also paves the way for the implementation of smart routing algorithms that enhance data transmission paths, enable low latency, and improve overall network performance.
Conclusion
The revolutionization of renewable and eco-friendly innovations in the telecom industry is still at its nascent stage. However, it is certainly making strides in reshaping communication while reducing the carbon footprint.
The rising demand for telecommunication leads to a dire need for this innovative technology to reshape the future. As it not only offers environmental sustainability but also brings massive cost savings and enhanced network performance. Adopting these initiatives will reshape the future of a more energy-efficient telecommunication and also pave the way for a more eco-friendly and lesser carbon footprint which will be a massive win for the generation to come.