5G Offers Opportunity to Make Networks More Energy Efficient: Ericsson

Ericsson says moving to renewable energy is critical to helping providers curb their carbon footprint as they deploy 5G. “Where energy consumption is responsible for 20-40% of operational expenditure (opex) for communications service providers, Ericsson’s research shows that if the entire [information and communications technology] industry switched to renewable energy sources for all of its electricity requirements, the carbon footprint could be reduced by 80%," said a Monday report. “With the growing demand for mobile networks to handle more data than ever, there is a unique opportunity to combat emissions,” Ericsson said. The report recommends providers make their networks smarter as they deploy bands coming online for 5G, including by leveraging AI and machine learning “and automation to boost energy savings.”