Network Operator Sustainability Strategies: Insights for 2024

Sustainability has been a particularly key issue in technical industries with newly raised awareness campaigns that have come about in the past decade or so. Sustainability has become a key corporate responsibility, both environmental sustainability and otherwise. Many large corporations in more technical industries have routinely included sustainability goals and achievements as an integral part of their official yearly reporting.

The primary area of concern and effective action so far in environmental sustainability for network operators is energy efficiency. Ongoing technological development to increase data processing and network traffic efficiency will naturally make energy efficiency a bi-product outcome, and during more recent times changing industry priorities and regulatory environments have allowed operators to prioritise it more. Ongoing and newer developments such as cloud computing, 5G, Open RAN and edge computing have been key use cases in driving further efficiency with their increased virtualisation and smart infrastructure which uses artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Furthermore, network operators will be engaging in brand new measures of sustainability due to newly created industry standards and regulatory directives. This will include measures such as the electrification of commercial fleets and new circular economy measures in consumer devices and recycling of network technology.

As we discuss in our latest research forecasts, network operators in North America and Far East & China have the largest global share in expenditure savings, emissions savings and energy savings through technical implementations of environmental sustainability. North America is projected to experience the largest growth in the coming years. Major network operators such as Verizon and AT&T are at a global cutting-edge in the most advanced network technology that can encourage more energy efficiency and sustainability.

Whilst the Far East & China has the largest position in the market for technical environmental sustainability solutions, having some of the most expansive network operators in the world, it is expected to have a significantly lower level of growth in the next 5 years. This is mostly due to places like China having, in general, greater pollution through its continued manufacturing and consumption of coal which other developed nations have reduced, which will result in a more insincere attitude towards optimal contributions to environmental sustainability in network operations. Despite this, major investment in green technology and more energy efficient virtualised network technology and data processing has been extensively implemented in China and their network operators. 

Source: Global Network Operator Sustainability Strategies 2024-2029

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