ITU Telecom In Focus 1: The Green ICT Agenda

source: ITU, published on 14th/2/2012

Welcome to the first in our ITU Telecom in Focus series, each focusing on the debates and findings on key global themes that emerged from our recent ITU Telecom World 2011 event, held in Geneva in October 2011. As the world reflects on the outcomes of the recent discussions which took place in Durban for the United Nations Climate Change Conference, this in Focus delves into the debates relating to ICTs, climate change and the core findings in this area from our World 2011 event.

Through roundtables, shared case studies, best practices, showcasing of innovative solutions and new approaches to ensuring a greener economy, the event tackled the challenges and advantages of placing green ICTs high on the agenda, and we invite you to share these with us. Please look out for more in this series on other key topics which were explored at the event including spectrum resources, leadership and more.

Blaise Judja-Sato, Executive Manager, ITU Telecom

Key Findings

• ICTs offer considerable “greening” potential: The unique global reach of ICTs means that they can be key tools for allaying the effects of climate change. ICTs must be recognised as central to the solution in ensuring a sustainable future, both through innovative applications and services such as smart grids or intelligent transport systems and also through developing and managing new collaborative paradigms for efficient energy usage
• ICT industry must address its own impact on climate change : The sheer size and scale of the ICT industry makes it a major contributor to climate change. Acknowledging that the industry cannot rely on its outward-facing smart products and services to address climate change, but must also get its own house in order by seeking to dramatically reduce carbon emissions and energy use is critical. Facing up to issues such as e-waste and continuing to find innovative, open, green ICT solutions to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change is imperative going forward
• Partnership at all levels is key: Cross-sector partnership, whether public-private initiatives or cooperation between, for example, the energy and ICT sectors, is an important prerequisite to providing universal access to both power and ICT in an efficient, sustainable fashion
• Increased awareness of benefits will drive growth: Green ICT solutions including efficient networks and renewable-powered devices may be best extended by increasing awareness of real economic benefits to operator, consumer and government alike
• No single solution: There is no one-size-fits-all solution for greening all markets or economies, but a range of new technologies, business models and small-scale solutions at local level, along with regional, national and international cooperation and knowledge sharing will help bring this about

Importance of energy: new sources, better management of existing ones

Energy is at the heart of any initiative on climate change: both in terms of increasing energy efficiency over existing grids and systems, and developing and installing alternative, green energy sources where there is currently limited or no access to electricity. For the ICT and energy sectors alike, the world is divided into the connected and the unconnected – quite literally, the disempowered. However, with the total number of mobile subscribers reaching some 6 billion globally, this now outstrips those with access to electricity.  In many respects therefore, bridging the “energy divide” could be seen as a greater challenge than the digital divide itself, a point noted by Moderator Laina Greene of GET-IT in the Digital Villages: Rethinking Bridging the Digital Divide main Forum session.

To bridge that energy divide – and thereby drive the green future – it is essential to bring together the energy and ICT sectors to cooperate on intelligent power management, exploit the potential of alternative technologies (notably solar equipment) and integrate power source and supply in innovative solutions. Smart grids emulate the benefits of the cloud computing model in redistributing capacity according to need, eliminating system redundancy, supplying excess capacity to new markets and increasing efficiency over shared energy grids. In rural and remote areas in emerging markets, decentralizing generation and supply would enable local micro-grids powered by solar, wind or biofuel energy sources to supply small-scale local power needs, with always-on reliability ensured by the backup of intelligent integration with the central grid.

Maximising energy efficiency over ICT networks themselves may involve similar shifts in thinking. Moving away from the concept of state-of-the-art full mesh, which some believe is neither efficient nor scalable, would allow services to be delivered dynamically on a needs-only, per transaction basis, perhaps with a central mesh fanning out at the geographical edges, according to Suresh Goyal of the GreenTouch Consortium speaking in the Technical Symposium’s Green solutions for Sustainable Growth session. Next-generation networks are uniquely positioned to deliver the green economy but, Goyal contended, the combination of an unprecedented expansion in network traffic necessary to get there and a correspondingly huge consumption of energy mean that network efficiency must be maximized now.

Cloud computing models mirror the ICT industry as whole: the cloud can leverage its capacity management and resources allocation to eliminate redundancy and make a big difference on a large scale. But demand for electricity, and the ensuing carbon footprint, is also on a large scale. Many providers of cloud computing services have started to relocate next-generation data centres to colder climates with easy access to renewable energy sources in order to reduce the costs of cooling the servers for the company and the environment.

More, however, is needed according to Bruce Baikie of the USA’s EWB & Green WiFi, speaking at the Digital Villages: Rethinking Bridging the Digital Divide session.  Baikie proposed a more radical shift in the cloud computing model: re-engineering and relocating data centres entirely. Relocating data centres to bring data processing and the cloud closer to end users in developing countries reduces an inefficient (and sometimes impractical) reliance upon central grids, allows for the increased application of solar power, is smaller-scale so requires less cooling facilities, reduces energy transmission costs from far- flung data centres, diminishes network failure bottlenecks and latency issues – and has the knock-on benefit of keeping local intellectual capital at home, rather than following the data centres overseas. Re- engineering for greater efficiency may involve the use of atom-based blades, low powered processors, direct current to eliminate AC/DC conversion losses, solid state storage and ambient cooling. Using the cloud in this way would enable flexibility, so that in the event of a lengthy sandstorm or monsoon season, the backup distant data centre would still be available: but solar, rather than diesel, would become the default energy source in the developing world driving its ICT use.

In the same session, GSMA’s Michael Nique spoke of the outsourcing of telecommunications towers in rural areas to third parties, an increasingly common practice in India which enables the very green sharing of infrastructure and capacity in an innovate business model of economic advantage to consumers, telcos and entrepreneurs alike.  During the Technical Symposium’s Green Solutions for Sustainable Growth, the concept of extending alternative deployment architecture from its successful rural environment in India to the urban context was presented, where a mixture of large cells and micro or pico cells provide full data services only where actually used or needed. An alternative deployment architecture in cities could save spectrum, power consumption and infrastructure costs by following a cloud-like approach and providing focused energy and services in areas of high density usage (in shopping malls rather than on motorways, for example), and using distributed antenna systems and two tier networks relevant to local energy consumption patterns.

In his Executive Video Interview, filmed during the event, Ben Verwaayen, CEO of Alcatel-Lucent summed up the importance of improved energy management: “(Providing access to) the grid and then to communications no longer come in that order; Green and rural development go hand in hand.”

Green must make sound business sense

The key to a truly green ICT industry is making a convincing, viable business case for the adoption of greener approaches for consumers, industry and governments alike.

Green technology needs to not only be affordable, but to offer consumers cost or value advantage over alternatives; government support for green initiatives needs not be linked only to mitigating climate change, but also to cost savings, driving economic development, GDP and job growth and concomitant social benefits. Providing green solutions is not simply a nice to have for industry, but can be discussed in the very concrete terms of real business advantage, of increased penetration, increased ARPU and decreased churn, of tapping huge, untouched rural markets and opening up new areas of content, applications, solutions and services on which to develop the market base.

Piggybacking green solutions on related cost benefits and business opportunities has particular potential in developing markets, where solar power often makes large-scale economic sense – and may well be the only way of increasing ICT presence and broadband connectivity in regions where the energy divide is so great.

In India, for example, mobile services in rural and remote areas often rely on diesel-generated power, which is costly to both climate change and the balance sheet; remote base stations are very expensive to manage, inadequate transport systems mean fuel may have to be helicoptered in, diesel is frequently stolen and ARPU is in any case all but unsustainably low anyway. Solar power has much lower operating expenses, is much more suited to rural environments and increases efficiency at the base station by focusing on smart allocation of resources on a need only basis so reducing expensive capacity redundancy.

Case studies presented at the Ministerial Roundtable on ICTs and Climate change and the Rethinking the Digital Divide session showed how solar power could be utilized in a number of innovative ways. These included the switchover of Bangladesh’s Grameenphone to enable green energy through a hybrid combination of solar and wind energy, or a solar-powered network installed in a school in Haiti to charge up to 500 school laptops per day. Staff quickly began using the excess power available to charge personal mobile phones; students soon followed suit, bringing in their parents’ mobile phones and, in many cases, the parents themselves;  an entrepreneurial micro-business sprang up to manage the school’s energy station and charging services.

Using excess capacity generated by renewable base stations to charge local mobile phones is a consumer-driven, de facto example of good green practice, increasing efficiency, reducing network redundancy and stimulating local economies and communities. Rather than walking for up to a day to the nearest village with a charging station, consumers can recharge locally at a lower cost, reducing lost working hours and increasing the use and availability of mobile telephones; excess capacity has also been used in parts of Africa by Safaricom – as cited by participants during the Rethinking Bridging the Digital Divide session – to power street lighting and water pumps.

Speaking during an interview, filmed at ITU Telecom World, ZTE’s Zhang Renjun referred to a solar mobile phone in Kenya that costs as little as US$15.  By exploiting the natural balance of so much sun and so little electricity to deliver a solar-powered solution that is green and makes business sense, the device empowers new populations with mobile and other telecommunications – and simultaneously opening up new markets to operators. Chairman Wang of China Mobile echoed these comments in the Broadband Leadership Summit’s Emerging Opportunities in Emerging Markets session, where he drew a direct line between the paramount importance of controlling cost to ensure success in emerging markets and the deployment of solar-powered systems and base stations to reap long term cost benefits.  Harnessing cost-consciousness as a key driver of sustainable solutions is key, a point repeated throughout the event. Where economic imperative and sustainability walk hand in hand, we are ensured of a greener future, Wang claimed.The need for adopting green business models is clear. ITU Deputy-Secretary General, Houlin Zhao noted during the Ministerial Roundtable on ICTs and Climate change how “business as usual is no longer an option if we want to ensure the livelihood of our planet. The future demands a shift towards a greener and more sustainable model of development.”

Driving a sustainable ICT industry: the roles of public, private sectors & consumers

Sustainability can only be achieved with a mixture of public and private investment. In particular, financing the high capital expenditure inherent in solar power may be only possible through government funding or the establishment of universal access funds in the mould of mobile telephony. But equally, government alone cannot provide the level and scale of investment to the network system necessary to make dramatic improvements in efficiency and drive sustainability; this must come from committed stakeholders within industry. Partnership between public and private sectors is therefore critical, a view echoed through a number of the sessions by representatives from government and industry alike.  Governments are uniquely positioned to coordinate public private partnerships where new forms of cooperation between sectors (energy, education, ICT, transport or business development) provide new opportunities – and often on a smaller, more localized scale, requiring new degrees of regulation.

As demand outstrips supply and innovative, even unconventional solutions, often prove to be recipes for success, regulation is in danger of falling behind the realities of the markets and situations it governs. Taking a joined-up approach – looking at how all different sectors, government departments and other stakeholders can work together – to rethinking regulation on micro businesses, on ICT deployment and on energy itself is vital, as the examples of the school in Haiti or the local rechargers in Africa demonstrate.

Accessing data on just such examples is critical if governments are to truly embrace the potential of ICTs to reduce climate change: sharing benchmarks, best practices and case studies provides information, inspiration and concrete guidance on low-carbon ICT solutions already implemented elsewhere in the world, in the words of Dennis Pamlin of the Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI), speaking at the Co-hosted Workshop on Low-carbon Development driving ICT Solutions. GeSI’s web platform provides a fully flexible benchmark of carbon-reduced ICT solutions for governments to consult and compare progress, embodying the central finding that there is no one-size-fits-all path to sustainability, rather multiple, locally-relevant tracks towards smart ICTs.

Government is also itself a major procurer of ICT services, a fact it can leverage to promote green solutions, leading through its own green procurement- if given sufficient guidelines, an issue highlighted during a number of sessions.  As the biggest users of equipment and energy, it was noted during the workshop on Green Label for ICTs, that Governments and ICT companies should lead by example by developing green policies for procurement, usage and end-of-life policies to minimize energy usage.

Consumer pressure becomes increasingly important to industry in the emerging connected landscape. Consumer awareness drives modified consumer behaviour and consumer pressure is a factor in driving a more sustainable ICT industry. A simple and universally agreed labeling system, similar to that used in rating white goods, could engage consumers in making more sustainable ICT choices. As the Green Label for ICTs workshop made clear, this would necessitate effective PR & marketing campaigns on the part of the ICT companies, dedicated resources to drive sustainable practices throughout organizations and effective regulation, tax incentives and standardization at government level.

Call to reduce e-waste and use ICTs to help combat the effects of climate change

A downside of the meteoric uptake in ICTs worldwide has been the issue of what to do with old, often outdated technologies and equipment, and the recycling and disposal of e-waste is now becoming a major concern. Here, a loud and clear message from Ministers at the Ministerial Roundtable on ICTs and climate change was a stark warning of the “danger” faced by developing countries as potential dumping grounds for old and obsolete technologies as they called for increased international cooperation and assistance in this arena. H.E Mrs Jasna Matic, Serbia’s State Secretary for Digital Agenda, noted that although the choice was not always easy, developed countries must avoid “offloading their dirty and bad technologies onto developing countries.” H.E Dr Mohamed Abdel Kader Mohamed Salem, Egypt’s Minister of Communications & Information technology, also called on developed countries to help developing countries financially and technologically to combat the effects of climate change; problems which, noted the Ministers, developing countries had not been responsible for but with which they were now grappling the effects.

H.E. Mr Ruhakana Rugunda, Minister of Information and Communications Technology, Uganda called for help and support in mitigating and adapting to the unwelcome effects of climate change, particularly from the developed world whoare “squarely responsible for the highest proportion of greenhouse gas emissions, where developing countries face the floods, hunger and starvation.” He also highlighted the need to work with ITU and other international organizations in these areas.

CTOs – representing major global ICT companies – at the CTO roundtable held during World 2011 discussed climate change adaption and mitigation, amongst other areas, identifying two crucial areas for further work: a disaster relief system allowing individuals to notify a victim’s friends, family or employer; and a disaster relief guidance mechanism to help victims reach safety. ITU is already actively engaged in work in this field, including emergency communication systems to provide early warning of impending disasters. CTOs also encouraged ITU to continue promoting the key role of ICTs in efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change, and urged ITU to push this agenda during the United Nations climate change negotiations (COP17) which have just concluded in Durban, South Africa.

Smart products and solutions: innovations to inspire

Smart cities will be green cities, where e generators route power efficiently in response to demand allowing real-time interactive exchange of information with customers and reducing carbon emissions by as much as 27%, tele- and video-conferencing replace business travel, smart media centres encourage shared infrastructure at work and electrical appliances automatically switch off in response to demand. In his Executive Interivew, Wim Elfrink of Cisco cited the example of eco-maps, enabling citizens to pinpoint by zipcode areas of greater consumption or waste, and thereby stimulating community action and smart government regulations to promote sustainability through highly-localised incentive or penalty schemes.

By treating the network as the fourth utility, smart management will enable neutral water consumption, vital in an increasingly urbanized world. Many of these smart solutions driving sustainability will be implemented by the emerging Internet of Things, discussed at length in a Forum session of the same name. Integrated information processing capacity, electronic identities such as RFID or cutting-edge sensors embedded in objects and industrial products will provide the smarts and turn today’s static objects into dynamic, self-regulating, communicating systems essential to green urban living.

Carlos Slim Helú speaking on the benefits of broadband during the B more with Broadband session at the Broadband Leadership Summit, highlighted the importance of telepresence solutions in providing effective in-house alternatives to international meetings, eliminating costly, environmentally-damaging business travel. During the Emerging Opportunities in Emerging Markets Telmex CEO Oscar von Hauske Solis suggested the use of recycled smart phones in areas of low income, where the cost of devices would otherwise be prohibitive and where lower specifications would be more than adequate for local needs, in the short- term at least – a farmer may want to know weather forecast information and pertinent market prices, not access huge databases and complex video-based applications.

Speakers in the Smarter Lives session highlighted the importance of smart technologies in cutting C02 emissions. ITU-T Director, Malcolm Johnson noted that the application of ICTs such as smart grids, smart buildings and intelligent transport systems can help reduce emissions in some of the sectors causing the greatest pollution.

At the same session, NTT DOCOMO President and CEO, Ryuji Yamada cited examples of a green, integrated approach include the convergence of mobile phones and electrical vehicles, with modules embedded in cars able to locate recharging stations or remotely control battery recharges; mobile home systems enabling domestic appliances to be controlled from outside the home over mobile, increasing energy efficiency; and smart taps  to visualize power consumption in the home.  Emulating the success of mobile telephony’s pay-as-you-go model in energy would, according to Michael Nique in the Digital Villages Rethinking Bridging the Digital Divide session, enable rural and remote populations to access power from local, solar-powered mini-grids on a highly efficient, as-and-when basis – a fine example of green technology predicated on cost.

These are, of course, merely some of the case studies, innovations and future solutions presented at ITU Telecom World 2011 and being developed across the industry as a whole. ICTs are thinking green, motivated by factors including cost-consciousness, practicality in opening up rural markets in the developing world, the urgent need to manage the finite resources of spectrum and energy and the most efficient way to meet the challenges of intensified urban living. Nevertheless, for all the dynamic new products and services in development and yet to come, the more down-to-earth business such as  increasing network efficiency on a global scale and reducing e waste is  every bit as vital in mitigating climate change.

Follow the Debate to 2012

Follow up on the debate on ensuring a greener economy through ICTs in Dubai at ITU Telecom World 2012. This event will take place from 14-18 October 2012 and you can register your interest here. In the meantime, look out for the ITU Telecom World 2011 Manifesto for Change, which will be available in the new year. Compiled with the help of event partner Ernst & Young, the Manifesto draws on input from delegates and online participants, capturing multi-channel knowledge flows from around the world. Through this document, ITU will now be encouraging world leaders to commit themselves to put in place the necessary legal and regulatory frameworks to help the private sector implement this change.