Much of the energy usage of telcos across the UK comes through powering their networks. Legacy technologies tend to be particularly energy-inefficient, which is a contributing factor behind decisions to retire what is no longer needed – following the example of retiring 3G, which consumes a substantial amount of power while only carrying a low percentage of traffic.
The 3G switch-off – completed already by EE and planned by other operators for this year and next – leaves the modern telecoms network based on Fibre to the Premises (FTTP), 4G/5G and IP technologies. The future focus of telecoms energy consumption will be to ensure these networks are energy-efficient and scalable to future demand, while reducing overall consumption.
