The GSMA updated its 2009 report which outlines the impact of operator initiatives in the areas of energy and carbon management. By analyzing 34 mobile networks around the world, the organization discovered that despite considerable growth in mobile connections and traffic, total network energy consumption increased only slightly from 2009 to 2010.
According to GSMA’s research, the total energy per unit traffic declined by approximately 20% and energy per connection declined by 5% over this period, indicating that the industry is making strong progress towards its goal of reducing its total global greenhouse gas emissions per connection by 40% by 2020.
The report used data and analysis from the GSMA’s analysis shows that if all networks with above average energy consumption are improved to the industry average, there is a potential energy cost saving for mobile operators of $1 billion per annum at 2010 prices; improving to the top quartile could save over $2 billion annually. That’s some serious cash which will undoubtedly prompt even the laziest operators to do something about their carbon footprint.
Moreover, the report also predicts future savings coming from smart applications, often as a result of M2M communications in applications such as smart grids and meters, as well as smart transportation and logistics.
And if you want to know more, you can grab the full report from here.