Nokia Siemens Networks touts its green credentials

Stuart Corner
Tuesday, 20 November 2007 09:46

IT Industry - Deals

Nokia Siemens Networks has jumped on the 'Green IT' bandwagon in a big way announcing new energy-efficient products and setting an ambitious goal of connecting the world in a way that creates a net positive impact to the environment by maximising the use of telecommunications. NSN argues that advanced wireless and wireline communication technology can play a significant role in creating a sustainable future by reducing adverse environmental impacts while increasing opportunities for economic welfare and growth. It says its goal is "to connect the world in a way that creates a net positive impact to the environment by maximising the benefits telecommunications can bring to people and businesses, while minimising the environmental footprint of its products and operations."

CEO, Simon Beresford-Wylie, said: "We see a world where five billion people are connected by 2015 – and that is about two billion more than today. As the next two billion people gain access to the benefits of connectivity, the positive impact will be enormous.

"At the same time, we know that with this huge growth Nokia Siemens Networks must provide wireless and wireline connectivity that uses less and less energy, that has recyclable components and limited use of environmentally sensitive materials. From how we design our products to our work with suppliers, the management of our own operations and the services we offer for end-of-life recycling, Nokia Siemens Networks is committed to leading the telecommunications industry in environmental sustainability."

According to Nokia, the biggest environmental impact of the telecommunications industry is the energy consumed by its products. Its stated aim is to minimise these energy requirements by designing products for low power consumption, by intelligent network and site design, by reducing the size of products for more efficient transportation and installation, by using intelligent software, increased service life of the products and sophisticated take-back and recycling services.

Nokia has just released its new energy-efficient cellular base station, claimed to require only 30 percent of the power of current products. "In a network with approximately 5000 base stations, serving a large metropolitan area, the annual energy saving would be the equivalent of 73,000 tons of CO2 emissions, the emissions generated annually by 21,000 cars," it claims.

It has won a contract to supply the technology to China Mobile Group Beijing (CMBJ). According to NSN, the Flexi GSM base station that it is supplying to CMBJ is the smallest and most energy efficient on the market. It claim that "other elements that support Nokia Siemens Networks' energy efficient solutions include: minimising the number of base stations sites in total; minimising the need for air conditioning to cool the sites and deploying software features that optimise the use of radio access for wireless communications."