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In the wake of the aggressive 5G roll-outs, network expansion and traffic growth, Telenor estimates that the company’s energy consumption will increase by 4 percent YoY, said Tanveer Mohammad, SVP, head of Global Operation, Telenor, at the BWS 2021 Green ICT for Green Development jointly organized by Huawei and Informa Tech at Dubai.
By 2022, Telenor anticipates the energy consumption to cross the 3000 GWh band.
Globally 5G technologies are considered more energy efficient than its predecessors. The consumption per bit for 5G is only one tenth of 4G, yet it can provide 30 times increase in capacity.
According to Richard Mahony, vice president, Service Provider Markets, Informa, telecom operators are leading the way to carbon neutral by embracing advanced technologies, and large operators in the world have made significant progress in this regard. The adoption of 5G, for example, helps operators reduce energy consumption by 90 percent compared to 4G, Mahony said. Adopting fiber and energy efficient data centers are also their key strategies in attaining sustainability goals.
Telenor also launched Project Thunderbolt in 2019 with an aim to achieve energy efficiency at three scopes. The first scope focuses on improving operational efficiency by implementing advanced components like high efficiency rectifiers, batteries and environmental control equipment. The second scope focuses on adopting alternate energy sources. Scope 3 is about reducing indirect emissions by influencing the suppliers to set their own science-based targets (SBTs).
Telenor SBT targets 68% of suppliers by spend covering purchased goods, services and capital goods, will have science-based targets by 2025.
Post implementation of Project Thunderbolt, Telenor reported 1.54 percent decrease in energy consumption in 2020 compared to 2019, despite 30-40 percent growth in data traffic during 2020.
To bring further efficiency in operations, Telenor is partnering with RAN based vendors to deploy advanced features in the network. The network will also leverage advanced AI and ML-based analytic platforms for efficient operations. The use of high efficiency rectifiers, batteries and environmental control equipment is also the priority of the telco.
In conjunction with the event, Huawei has announced the launch of GreenSite and PowerStar2.0 solutions to help operators build green, low-carbon 5G networks.
The GreenSite solution, which integrates innovative architecture, site construction, and intelligent algorithms, can improve energy efficiency by 20 times, Huawei said.
The PowerStar2.0 solution introduces new intelligent energy-saving features to base stations and networks to reduce energy consumption by over 25% through multi-dimensional coordination under typical configurations, according to Aaron Jiang, vice president of Wireless Product Line, Huawei.
More than 50 operators globally have benefited from PowerStar 1.0, and the improvements in the latest version helps operators double energy savings, Jiang added.
5G traffic is expected to grow 10x by 2025 and 100x by 2030, according to Huawei Insight. However, by evolving to green 5G, operators can achieve optimal performance and reduce energy consumption thereby improving overall experience and operational efficiency across the networks, Jiang said.
Rajani Baburajan
