Green 5G networks will lead to low-carbon future

Green 5G networks will contribute to a low-carbon future, as the wireless technology can help a wide range of sectors cut carbon emissions, industry experts said.  

Duan Hao, vice-president of Huawei Technologies Co's single radio access network product line, said more than 1.9 million 5G base stations have been built in the world. They are promoting changes and boosting productivity.

He said 5G is emerging as a new information infrastructure to enable digital intelligence in both production and operations across a wide range of industries, helping them optimize processes, control precision and output.

One big benefit from the progress is the substantial improvement in energy efficiency in social and economic activities, which can help cut carbon emissions, Duan added.

His remarks were echoed by findings from World Economic Forum, which forecast that by 2030, digital technology including 5G can help reduce global carbon emissions by at least 15 percent.

Data from telecom operator China Mobile showed that its telecom networks and a broad adoption of its wireless technologies in industries have helped China reduce 800 million tons of carbon emissions from 2016 to 2020.

In the meantime, the mobile industry is also working to reduce carbon emissions itself.

The global telecom industry association GSMA said the mobile industry is one of the first sectors to set a milestone goal to transform the mobile industry to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 at the latest.

Telecom operators have given green development a high priority on their strategic agendas when rolling out 5G networks, Duan said.

To help promote a low-carbon future, 5G networks have to be green first, he said.

Huawei has proposed a green network assessment system for energy efficiency and believes that high device integration, site simplification, intelligence and full-life cycle environmental friendliness are the four major characteristics of green networks.

A green 5G white paper released by Huawei showed the company has also offered a comprehensive range of products and solutions that address power consumption issues of wireless networks.

To use power efficiently, Huawei has redesigned site form factors and now offers highly integrated simplified site solutions for use in all scenarios.