Huawei executives said that the company is going to focus on building greener 5G networks that will not only perform at a higher level but also reduce energy consumption and lower greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, reducing energy consumption and embracing sustainability has been a key theme this week at Huawei’s annual Global Mobile Broadband Forum conference in Dubai.
During the keynote session, Ryan Ding, Huawei’s executive director and president of the company’s carrier business group said that it is estimated that by 2030 the average data traffic per user per month will reach 600GB. He noted that if existing networks remain unchanged, the energy consumption of wireless networks will increase more than tenfold to accommodate that traffic. And he said that operators need to innovate in power supply, distribution, use, and management and build greener networks if they want to cut greenhouse emissions by 45%.
Ding, of course, also touted Huawei’s efforts in this area, noting that the company has developed an iSolar power supply system that can be used in cabinets and on poles as well as at cell sites and inside equipment rooms. He added that Huawei has also redesigned its cell site form factors so they are integrated and share energy consumption among the different pieces of equipment to make sure electricity to the cell site is not wasted.
Ding wasn’t the only Huawei executive emphasizing the need for the industry to go green. Ken Hu, Huawei’s rotating chairman also said during his keynote address that the mobile industry has an opportunity to help all industries cut emissions and improve power efficiency. Hu said that the World Economic Forum has said that by 2020 digital technology will be able to reduce global carbon emissions by at least 15%.
Hu said that Huawei is trying to optimize power management in its data centers and is using new materials and algorithms to lower power consumption in its products.
Huawei also included the development of green networks as part of its top 10 trends for the next decade. Specifically, the company said that it believes the industry is going to make energy efficiency a consideration in all aspects of its network design, including radio interfaces, devices and sites.
RELATED: Orange, Nokia team on using refurbished RAN gear
But Huawei isn’t the only telecom company that is focused on sustainability and lowering carbon emissions. Orange and Nokia announced earlier this week that they are partnering to encourage the use of refurbished radio access network equipment in networks as a way to reduce waste and increase sustainability as well as control costs.
Nokia said that it will offer all Orange subsidiaries reconditioned RAN equipment.