Page 41 - Climate Control News Magazine April 2021

New products
Promises and pitfalls of 5G network
5G WILL BE the most transforma- tive communications technology in a generation and enable a universe of new services, including ad- vanced energy management capa- bilities that will be critical to solv- ing growing energy and sustainability challenges.
But new research highlights the practical challenges of 5G energy management.
Estimates suggest 5G networks can be up to 90 per cent more effi- cient per traffic unit than their 4G predecessors, but they still require far more energy due to increased network density, heavy reliance on IT systems and infrastructure, and increased network use and acceler- ated traffic growth.
The report from telecommunica- tions consultancy STL Partners and Vertiv, a global provider of criti- cal digital infrastructure and conti- nuity solutions, concludes organi- sations should address these challenges in two ways: By adopt- ing energy efficiency best practices across their networks, and by en- couraging their customers to adopt 5G-enabled services to reduce con- sumption and emissions in all walks of life.
STL Partners estimates global 5G traffic will overtake 3G/4G as soon as 2025, making sustainabili- ty an urgent priority. In fact, 40 per cent of enterprises surveyed for the report indicated energy efficiency should be the first or second priori- ty for telecom operators when de- ploying 5G networks.
The report, Why Energy Man- agement Is Critical To 5G Success, uses research including a survey of 500 enterprises globally to outline the challenges organisations face as they wrestle with the increased energy use and costs associated with 5G. The paper identifies sev- eral best practices aimed at miti- gating those increases and costs, organised across five categories:
Network technology: Deploying hardware and software designed and operated for efficiency
Facilities infrastructure: Includ- ing new edge data centres to sup- port cloud native IT
Infrastructure management: Deploying the appropriate hard- ware and software to measure, monitor, manage, improve and au- tomate the network
Organisation and evaluation: Taking a holistic, full lifecycle view of costs and investments across the network
Working with others: Embracing innovative and non-traditional commercial models, standards and collaboration
Vertiv vice president for global DC power, Scott Armul, said to make meaningful cost reductions it should involve entire ecosys- tems around network operations from people to infrastructure and partners.
“Because of the reliance on IT to enable 5G applications, a high de- gree of collaboration will be re- quired across operators, OEMs and infrastructure providers, and cus- tomers to ensure deployments are
optimised and every possible effi- ciency is pursued,” he said.
Sustainability tool
The report makes clear that net- work efficiency improvements and best practices, while important, are only one piece of the energy puzzle that comes with 5G. Those efforts must be paired with a more holistic, societal approach to curbing energy use and emissions that leverages 5G capabilities in ways far beyond the control of the telco operator.
“Operators are deploying 5G net- works to grow new revenues. This growth will come from new connec- tivity and applications enabling op- erators’ and customers’ own trans- formation journeys,” according to Phil Laidler, director at STL Partners.
In terms of inf luencing customer behaviours in order to reduce ener- gy consumption and carbon emis- sions, the report identified three industries with the potential for
significant improvement through the use of 5G services.
The manufacturing sector could achieve up to $730 billion worth of benefits by 2030 through the use of 5G to enable advanced predictive maintenance and automation.
Transportation and logistics could get up to $280 billion in bene- fits by 2030 through advanced driv- er assistance, connected traffic in- frastructure, and automated home deliveries. And, finally, the report suggests 5G could allow the health- care sector to provide improved ac- cess to healthcare services for up to 1 billion patients by 2030 while si- multaneously reducing emissions through higher asset utilisation, re- duced patient and clinician travel, and higher clinician productivity.
Asia Pacific will be the leading region in 5G technology adoption with 1.14 billion subscribers ex- pected by 2024, according to GlobalData.
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APRIL 2021
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