GigaOm Pro references a Pike Research report that says 42% energy can be saved in the mobile network data centers.
Report: How Mobile Networks Can Cut Carbon
Clint Wheelock
- Tuesday, September 1, 2009
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Summary:
This Pike Research report focuses on the direct impact of green technologies and practices as applied to mobile telecommunications networks, with an emphasis on the opportunity to reduce carbon emissions from network operations. Within mobile networks, base stations and switching centers consume 70-80 percent of an operator’s network energy usage, so improvements here are critical.
The summary continues.
As operators concentrate on improvements in radio frequency (RF) amplifiers, new network architectures and topologies, fresh air cooling solutions and the use of sustainable energy solutions for off-grid locations, Pike Research believes that a significant opportunity exists to dramatically improve the efficiency and environmental impact of mobile networks. Our analysis indicates that there are sufficient technology and process improvements that could reduce 2013 infrastructure emissions by at least 101 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e), a decrease of 42 percent from business-as-usual (BAU) trendlines. Other key factors supporting this trend include government emissions mandates in most parts of the world, along with operators’ increasing shift away from capex-only business case analysis to a total cost of ownership (TCO) approach for purposes of calculating return on investment (ROI) for major infrastructure upgrades. This report examines some of the key opportunities and business case scenarios for achieving these reductions.
The Pike Research report web site has more details.
Green Telecom Networks
Energy Efficiency, Renewable Power, and Carbon Emissions
Reductions for Fixed and Mobile Telecommunications Networks
Energy consumption is one of the leading drivers of operating expenses for both fixed and mobile network operators. Reliable access to electricity is limited in many developing countries that are currently the high-growth markets for telecommunications. At the same time, many operators have adopted corporate social responsibility initiatives with a goal of reducing their networks’ carbon footprints, and network infrastructure vendors are striving to gain competitive advantage by reducing the power requirements of their equipment. All of these factors will continue to converge over the next several years, creating significant market potential for greener telecom networks.