Telefonica Germany has boosted its energy efficiency 14% in three years, after becoming the first operator to complete a GSM Association (GSMA)-led green ICT program.
The operator used the GSMA’s Mobile Energy Efficiency Benchmarking service to identify potential savings in energy costs and cut carbon footprint, completing the project with the assistance of Nokia Siemens Networks. Telefonica has also identified further potential cost savings worth €1.8 million per year, using the GSMA’s energy optimization service.
Gabriel Bonilha, head of energy efficiency at Telefónica Group, says the GSMA schemes form part of a decade-long effort by the telco to improve its energy efficiency. “Being a MEE pioneer has helped us to quantify the opportunity ahead of us and this optimization exercise…is an important step in seizing that opportunity.”
Telefonica Germany identified potential annual savings of €400,000 through deploying smart energy controls – a move NSN predicts will cut electricity usage by 2-gigawatt hours (GWh), and carbon dioxide emissions by a kiloton. The telco could also save €1 million per year by deploying more efficient rectifiers through its network, a move that would cut 5-GWh from electricity usage and lower carbon emissions by 2-kilotons.
The project estimates the financial payback of the moves would be achieved within nine months to thirty months.
