Telcos, There’s More to Sustainability Than 5G and Data Analytics

Global data usage and traffic continue to grow exponentially, drastically impacting the environment. A Boston Consulting Group report predicts the information communications technology (ICT) sector will be responsible for 14% of global CO2 emissions by 2040. Currently, the ICT sector represents 3 to 4% of global CO2 emissions – almost twice the level of the aviation industry – with telcos making up 1.6% of those emissions.

Thankfully, the telco industry recognizes the issues of energy consumption and carbon emission and is actively implementing various methods to reduce its footprint and become more sustainable. Primarily, telcos want to switch to 5G technology and retire legacy infrastructure, which is less energy efficient. Likewise, they are eager to leverage data analytics to optimize energy consumption across data centers, mobile networks and other operations.    

While it is encouraging to see telcos embrace such plans, the reality is that they want to optimize energy consumption via 5G and data analytics because there are business and cost benefits associated with transitioning to 5G and leveraging customer data. Of course, telcos still value sustainability – but they do have real favoritism toward those projects that have more visible and tangible advantages. The challenge for telcos is to dedicate the same time and resources toward other initiatives, which might not be as lucrative but are equally vital to driving sustainability.

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EPAM is empowering telcos to become “TechCos”, helping them modernize their businesses for the digital age. Learn more about EPAM’s telecommunications solutions: https://www.epam.com/industries/telecom-media-and-entertainment/telecommunications