FEATURE ENVIRONMENT


@fibresystemsmag | www.fibre-systems.com


How telecom can combat climate change


BT, Telefonica, Telia Carrier and the Global e-Sustainability Initiative explain how the communications industry is reducing carbon emissions, even as data consumption escalates


F


or companies across the information and communication technology (ICT) spectrum, from manufacturers to telecommunications providers, helping


reduce the world’s greenhouse gas emissions is a serious challenge. Tat’s according to Luis Neves, chairman of GeSI, the Global e-Sustainability Initiative, which represents 35 companies in the sector. ‘We see an exponential data increase leading to more energy consumption,’ he stated. However, there is cause for optimism. ‘More efficient energy network management and investments in more intelligent and efficient infrastructure network equipment from telecom carriers are decoupling growth and carbon emissions,’ Neves explained. Tese issues come to the forefront in part from


ongoing international negotiations over climate change driven by greenhouse gas emissions. Te latest treaty, the Paris Agreement, went into effect in November 2016 and aims to hold global average temperatures ‘well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels’. To achieve this, a majority of national governments have committed to emission cuts, for which reductions in burning fossil fuels to generate electricity are prime targets. And with surging data growth, the communications industry is busy taking steps to avoid and offset an accompanying increase in energy consumption. On the offsetting side, Neves emphasises that


ICT can play a key role in helping the world’s other industries meet their emissions commitments. GeSI’s ‘SMARTer2030’ report, published in 2015, foresees ICT enabling an enormous overall reduction, equivalent to 12 billion tonnes (Gt) of global CO2 (CO2


emissions e). Tat’s 20 per cent of what they might 20 FIBRE SYSTEMS Issue 15 • Spring 2017


otherwise have reached by 2030, and would keep the world’s total overall emission levels steady at what they were in 2015, GeSI claims. ‘Tis means that ICT can potentially avoid the trade-off between economic growth and environmental protection,’ Neves said. Yet data growth will more than double ICT’s


own carbon footprint from GeSI’s estimate of 0.53Gt CO2


e in 2002 to 1.25Gt CO2 e in 2030, or


1.97 per cent of global emissions. GeSI points out that this would be far outweighed by benefits to other sectors – and that ICT businesses are extremely motivated to minimise their energy consumption for cost reasons.


Down with prices For example, Stockholm’s international network infrastructure and service provider Telia Carrier needs energy-related cost savings to keep pace with falling prices per megabit of traffic. ‘Cost efficiency is of essence to be relevant in the carrier market,’ said Mattias Fridström, Telia Carrier’s chief evangelist. Te firm constantly reviews its energy consumption. ‘We always remove and replace older


equipment,’ Fridström explained. ‘We review the network’s design to verify we are using all gear at


optimal performance. We are also pushing equipment suppliers to make sure the next generation of gear consumes a lot less power per megabit. As a result of this, our total power consumption decreased by around eight megawatt-hours from 2015 to 2016. We are again on pace to consume the same or less power as the year before despite an enormous increase in actual traffic.’ One significant decision Telia Carrier recently


made was completely replacing its European DWDM network. ‘We had enough capacity in the old system for a few more years,’ Fridström admitted. ‘But the new equipment draws so much less power and occupies so much less space we feel it’s worth doing it. Te cost of power is so significant now and if the environment also gains from that, then so much the better.’ Tis situation occurred partly because


equipment capital expenditure (capex) costs have fallen, while energy consumption’s contribution to operating expenditure (opex) has increased. ‘Over a five-year period, the capex for a system is almost identical to the opex for power and space,’ Fridström explained. ‘Five years ago, capex was usually the limiting factor, and now opex is starting to be the one you have to care about.’


Installation of FTTC networks in the UK have enabled BT to cut energy consumption by 40 per cent


Johnnie Pakington via Flickr Creative Commons CC BY 2.0 licence


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40