Ngns and Energy Efficiency ITU-T Technology Watch Report #7 August 2008
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International Telecommunication Union NGNs and Energy Efficiency www.itu.int/itu-t/techwatch ITU-T Technology Watch Report #7 August 2008 Printed in Switzerland Telecommunication Standardization Policy Division Geneva, 2008 ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector International Telecommunication Union NGNs and Energy Efficiency ITU-T Technology Watch Report 7 August 2008 Global migration to Next-Generation Networks (NGNs) could bring about a substantial reduction in power consumption and thereby reduce the telecommunication sector’s contribution to global warming. The report presents an overview of the main characteristics of NGNs and looks at how they can minimize power consumption of network, transmission and end-user equipment, as well as in data centres. It examines the energy savings that can be indirectly obtained from greater NGN usage, such as remote collaboration, and highlights ITU-T standardization work in the field of NGNs and climate change. Telecommunication Standardization Policy Division ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector ITU-T Technology Watch Reports are intended to provide an up-to-date assessment of promising new technologies in a language that is accessible to non-specialists, with a view to: • Identifying candidate technologies for standardization work within ITU. • Assessing their implications for ITU Membership, especially developing countries. Other reports in the series include: #1 Intelligent Transport System and CALM #2 Telepresence: High-Performance Video-Conferencing #3 ICTs and Climate Change #4 Ubiquitous Sensor Networks #5 Remote Collaboration Tools #6 Technical Aspects of Lawful Interception #7 NGNs and Energy Efficiency Acknowledgements This report was prepared by Arancha Fernández Romero ([email protected]) with Dr Tim Kelly. It has benefited from contributions and comments from Arthur Levin and David Faulkner. The opinions expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the International Telecommunication Union or its membership. This report, along with other Technology Watch Reports can be found at www.itu.int/ITU-T/techwatch. Please send your comments to [email protected] or join the Technology Watch Correspondence Group, which provides a platform to share views, ideas and requirements on new/emerging technologies and to comment on the Reports. The Technology Watch function is managed by the ITU-T Standardization Policy Division. © ITU 2008 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, by any means whatsoever, without the prior written permission of ITU. ITU-T Technology Watch Reports NGNs and Energy Efficiency Next Generation Networks (NGNs) are seen to make energy reductions through the use by many as the new network architecture of ICTs in other sectors. that will unify today’s fixed, mobile and The ITU-T Telecommunication Standar- broadcast networks. This innovative dization Advisory Group (TSAG) recently technology is expected to bring about launched a work programme on ICTs and greater energy efficiency than legacy climate change. This work aims at limiting, networks. In turn, by improving the energy and ultimately reducing, GHG emissions. It efficiency of Information and also seeks to foster sustainable Communication Technologies (ICTs), NGN development, promote energy efficiency in can potentially make a significant the development of Recommendations and contribution in the battle against global Guidelines3, and make users and operators warming. aware of the possibilities of climate change The most reliable recent studies estimate mitigation through the use of ICTs. that the ICT sector itself contributes around Reducing energy waste and increasing 2-2.5 per cent of global GHG emissions 1 , power efficiency is the optimal way to and that this share will grow, mainly reduce CO2 emissions and it also presents because of increasing demand for ICTs in great advantages to telecom operators and developing countries. However, there is a service providers in terms of cost savings. huge potential for ICTs to mitigate GHG Thus, it represents a “win-win” scenario. emissions in other sectors of the economy, This report examines the relationship such as transport, construction and supply between climate change and NGNs, by chain management. analyzing the improved energy efficiency In December 2007, ITU-T issued a report in and applications of these new networks. the Technology Watch Briefing Report Specifically, the report presents an series, entitled “ICTs and Climate Change” overview of the main characteristics of NGN showing how ICTs are both a cause of (in section 1); looks at how NGN can global warming and also a major part of the minimize the power consumption of the solution. ICTs can be used to monitor, network, (2). The report also looks at the mitigate and adapt to climate change 2 likely increase in the number of data through the promotion of carbon centres and what can be done to minimize displacement technologies. This report was their power requirements (3). It examines further discussed at two symposia on ICTs the energy savings that can be indirectly and climate change held in Kyoto, 15-16 obtained from greater NGN usage, such as April and in London, 17-18 June 2008. A remote collaboration, amongst other more recent publication, “SMART 2020: applications (4), and ITU-T standardization Enabling the Low Carbon Economy in the work on NGN and climate change issues (5). Information Age” by the Climate Group and Finally, some examples are presented in the Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI), this report on possible emission savings states that the use of efficient ICTs could that could be achieved with a better use of reduce global CO2 emissions by 15 per cent ICTs and NGN deployment. This report is by 2020; which is five times the footprint of the seventh in the series of ITU-T the ICT sector (see Figure 1). This will Technology Watch Briefing Reports and require that the ICT sector adopt a range of complements earlier reports that dealt with measures aimed at reducing its carbon such environment topics as climate change, footprint, especially for data centres, video-conferencing and remote together with smart planning and logistics collaboration. NGNs and Energy Efficiency (August 2008) 1 ITU-T Technology Watch Reports Figure 1: ICT impact: The global footprint and the enabling effect In 2020 the global footprint is expected to reach 51.9 GtCO2e (Giga tonnes of CO2 equivalents). Of this amount, 1.4 Gt would be the direct contribution of ICTs. However by implementing good practices and use of ICTs, total emissions could be reduced in 7.8 Gt, e.g. 15 per cent of the expected amount. Source: GeSI (2008) “SMART 2020: enabling the low carbon economy in the information age”, available at www.gesi.org. 1 What are Next-Generation Networks? The growing demand for ICTs, for new and the applications they support, should multimedia services, and the resulting lead to a major increase in the usage of ICT expansion of digital traffic, is leading the tools. This in turn should facilitate a process telecommunications industry towards the of the substitution of the transport of atoms convergence and optimization of traditional by the transport of bits. NGN is therefore networks. The logical goal is the coming an essential part of any study of the effect together of existing networks (fixed, mobile, of ICTs on climate change. Internet, broadcast etc) into a unitary NGNs are expected to have effects not only network architecture which has been on the environment, but also on social and termed Next Generation Networks (NGNs). economic elements, equivalent to earlier This emerging technology is a packet-based transitions in the telecommunication sector. network able to make use of multiple This was the case in the early 1990s, with broadband technologies, providing the creation of the World Wide Web, which telecommunication services to users, with brought the Internet into homes and independence of service-related functions workplaces and prepared the ground for the from transport technologies 4 . Main NGN so-called "digital revolution" 5 . A similar characteristics and differences from transformation occurred with mobile phones, traditional networks are presented in Box 1. which began provided a substitute for These characteristics appear to offer great traditional fixed lines, offering users potential for reducing the energy multiple services access including requirements and carbon footprint of ICTs multimedia applications, anywhere and by: (1) better equipment management and anytime. sharing of infrastructures, thereby reducing NGN will require substantial investment, energy requirements for network and but the opportunities created will open up device operation, and (2) substituting major expansion in both the scale and travelling and the transport of goods, by scope of the telecommunication sector. the operation of new applications running Some of these trends are already evident in over high-bandwidth NGNs. the growth of broadband networks, the rise NGNs are likely to contribute to a rise in the of Voice over IP (VoIP), multiple play number of data centres, which will increase offerings, fixed-mobile convergence and IP power consumption. But these data centres, Television (IPTV). Some migration 2 NGNs and Energy Efficiency (August 2008) ITU-T Technology Watch Reports strategies will target NGN as a replacement following the same path as developed of the core network, while others will countries.