ATIS’ Next G Alliance published a white paper showing how the information and communications technology (ICT) industry can contribute to reducing overall energy consumption and achieving environmental sustainability objectives while accelerating progress toward 6G.
The white paper, Green G: The Path Towards Sustainable 6G, identifies key areas where the ICT sector, including the mobile infrastructure, radio access technology, data center industry and device manufacturers, have made significant improvements over the last decade in reducing the overall energy consumption of network traffic. The report also highlights the importance of sustainability in future generations of wireless in a world that grows more connected, with users’ data needs increasing each year.
“The Next G Alliance is charting the course to the 6G future, and this brings a great opportunity to ensure that energy conservation and sustainability objectives are built into next-generation mobile networks by design,” said ATIS President and CEO Susan Miller. “The insights of the Green G white paper will be integral to the National 6G Roadmap that the Next G Alliance is also publishing in early 2022. This work is setting the stage to put North America at the forefront of wireless technology leadership for the next decade and beyond.”
“It is now clear that all industries must reduce their carbon footprint and overall environmental impact, to achieve a 1.5-degree future, and ensure a livable planet for future generations,” said Marie-Paul Odini (HPE), chair, Next G Alliance Green G Working Group. “I am very glad to chair this North American telecom initiative driving towards net-zero and a more sustainable economy, with the support of the main actors in the industry. With this first white paper, we want to highlight a number of areas that need to be tackled and provide recommendations. We also encourage other people to join our effort and contribute to this transition.”
In addition to minimizing ICT’s impact on the environment, next-generation mobile networks will be a major sustainability enabler for other industries and verticals to achieve their own sustainability goals. Next-generation mobile networks can enable millions of businesses globally to reduce their energy and environmental impact and can have a profound effect on climate change. In addition to improving energy efficiency, the Green G: The Path Towards Sustainable 6G report highlights how industry has an opportunity to participate more fully in the circular economy via improvements to manufacturing, supply chain management and recycling. Recommendations made in the new Green G: The Path Towards Sustainable 6G report help the ICT industry lead by example.