Understanding the Environmental Footprint of Telecom Services & Transatel’s Efforts Towards Sustainability

Moving Towards Carbon Neutrality 

As part of NTT Group, Transatel aligns with the group’s CSR strategy. NTT Group aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040 and reports steady progress. In fiscal year 2022, NTT reduced its carbon emissions by 21% across scopes 1, 2, and 3, as detailed in the table below, saving over 1.6 million tons of CO2e year-on-year.

In addition to supporting the overarching CSR strategy of the NTT Group, Transatel is proactive in launching independent initiatives aimed at further reducing the environmental footprint of telecom services. These initiatives are designed to deliver immediate and measurable results, reinforcing Transatel’s commitment to sustainability in the telecommunications industry. 

What about the carbon emissions from mobile operators? 

Globally, 22% of an IoT project’s carbon impact is attributed to connectivity. In France, this figure drops to just 5%, thanks to the country’s low-carbon electricity production. The bulk of emissions primarily arise from hardware manufacturing. For deeper insights, read: How to make IoT more sustainable?

The environmental footprint of telecom services, particularly connectivity, is influenced by energy consumption during use and the equipment deployed in data centers. The widespread adoption of virtualization, along with the rollout of 5G SA and extensive use of Kubernetes, significantly increases the number of servers required to operate a network. This inevitably amplifies the material and energy footprint of telecom networks, even when the functional scope remains unchanged. 

Transatel, a global leader in mobile IoT connectivity, is actively working to challenge this trend. If you find this topic compelling, reach out to us, share your thoughts, and we will craft an in-depth analysis on this issue!

Managing the Environmental Footprint of Telecom Services: Doing the right things, the right way

In response to the increasing environmental pressures posed by modern mobile technologies, we have strategically chosen to challenge these constraints by directing our investments toward a “do good, do well” approach. We have undertaken significant work in our core network, not only to adopt the latest technologies while minimizing negative carbon externalities but also to optimize our material footprint and the energy consumption of our network components. 

In line with this commitment, we have launched a comprehensive transformation cycle for 2023-2025 aimed at: 

1. Advising clients on reducing their carbon impact: As a leading global cellular connectivity provider, we are dedicated to assisting clients in crafting smarter solutions and choosing responsibly manufactured hardware. 

2. Transitioning to modern data centers: Our Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) has significantly improved through enhanced heat management and sustainable backup power systems. By the end of 2023, we will have launched services in new French data centers, achieving an impressive PUE of 1.35, well below the European average of 1.80 and closer to the theoretical ideal of 1. 

3. Redesigning network components with a ‘Do we really need this?’ approach: We take pride in offering advanced services such as high-frequency communication logs (CDRs) and diagnostic tools. Rather than a generic real-time platform, we have infused our core network with precision and simplicity. By deactivating non-essential functions, we’ve significantly reduced energy consumption, minimized hardware footprint, and lessened computing demands in our data centers, thus smoothing load peaks and lowering overall consumption. 

What are the results? 

Our ambitions are high, and our outcomes must match! To date, we have taken initial measurements to assess this significant shift in the environmental footprint of telecom services. A prime example of our innovation is our real-time management platform (OCS). While most mobile operators rely on generic, off-the-shelf solutions that adopt a “one-size-fits-all” methodology—impacting everything from tourist prepaid top-ups to critical machine communications—this often leads to service disruptions that can halt all data sessions. 

We opted to develop a customized platform that prioritizes service quality. Our innovative design incorporates “circuit breakers” that protect essential data connectivity for our IoT clients, temporarily deprioritizing non-essential services, such as communication logs. This platform is entirely our creation, meticulously crafted and operated by our own developers, rather than being merely resold. This tailored approach has been engineered for optimal performance, flexibility, and maintainability, utilizing high-quality, simplified code that enhances scalability while significantly reducing hardware requirements and energy consumption. 

In 2023, our comprehensive rewrite of the SCP component achieved an impressive 83% reduction in CPU usage, with latency dropping from 44ms to 12ms. We aim to further enhance performance by reaching 5ms for critical services (update/terminate sessions) by 2024. By effectively minimizing both hardware and energy footprints, our stringent prioritization strategy allows us to provide even more resilient services, significantly improving availability and earning the trust of clients like Airbus and Worldline. 

Want to learn how Transatel can help you reduce your environmental footprint of telecom services and your IoT deployments? Click here to book a FREE call with our global connectivity experts!