Analysis, Environment, Mobile, Global: Mobile network operators are creating a global annual excess-carbon footprint equivalent to running nearly 3 million three-bedroom family homes. This is why it is most encouraging to see that Actix, a company dedicated to enhancing the quality and efficiency of mobile networks, has turned its attention to the need for mobile networks to be planned on an environmentally-favourable basis.

Actix is critical of its industry colleagues. For all the concern about carbon footprints and energy bills, operators are failing to embrace a huge opportunity to reduce emissions, reduce their energy costs and provide better customer experience at the same time. CEO Alex Hawker observes: "This continues to surprise me, as energy currently represents the third most significant operating expense for the average mobile carrier (which) could actually improve business performance and customer experience by embracing environmental concerns."

With the imminent roll-out of mobile broadband networks (3G/4G) set to increase power demands, few operators are considering how this unnecessary carbon expenditure can be reduced through a more efficient planning of their mobile network.

Mobile network energy consumption currently stands at 61 billion kWH worldwide, with each of the many millions of base stations producing almost 10 tonnes of carbon emissions every year. How can there not be room for improvement?

Conservative estimates project that this consumption will double by 2011, totalling 449 billion kWH over this five-year period, at a cost in excess of $US42 billion. Actix, to its credit, is hard-hitting: the largest mobile network operators produce more carbon per year than some of the largest car rental companies, with the top 20 carriers worldwide accounting for almost 40% of total emissions by wireless networks.

By reducing network base station usage by just 15%, mobile operators could save over US$7 billion - the equivalent of 28 billion kg of CO2 or of a jumbo jet flying from London to New York and back every day for the next 165 years. Reducing global mobile network energy consumption by 20% in 2007 alone would equate to a 1% cut in annual global emissions from airlines.

Alex Hawker continues: "Mobile operators are in a position to save the environment from an unnecessary 28 billion kg of CO2 over five years by embracing advanced software solutions to these environmental challenges - which incidentally will also save tens of millions of dollars per year on the running costs of their networks, as well as improve the end customer's experience."