Network traffic has surged during the pandemic – but electricity consumption is largely unaffected

• 2020-06-04

A recent survey by mobile industry association GSMA shows that telecom operators’ electricity consumption and related greenhouse gas emissions have remained largely unchanged despite a massive increase in network traffic during the Covid-19 pandemic. Telia Company’s data confirms that electricity consumption is largely unaffected despite a 20% mobile data increase.

“During the pandemic, connectivity has enabled our societies to continue to function. We have worked, shopped and socialized online. Thanks to many years of energy efficiency gains, the growth in data traffic has not led to a surge in energy consumption. Our changes in habits, in particular related to less travel, have actually had a positive effect on the environment,” says Sara Nordbrand, Head of Group Sustainability at Telia Company.

The GSMA surveyed several of its members to understand the environmental impact of the surge in use of services such as video conferencing and entertainment streaming. In most cases, networks’ electricity consumption has remained flat, even as network traffic has increased by 50% or more.

In Telia Company, electricity consumption remained flat across its mobile networks since the pandemic started, despite a 20% data increase. The same can be seen for electricity consumption in its fixed and core networks.

Large emission reductions despite surge in data transfer
Across the ICT industry there are signs that during the last decade, growth in data traffic has been ‘decoupled’ from energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. According to data(1) collected by European operator association ETNO and its members covering the period 2010-2018, data traffic increased twelve-fold while electricity consumption only increased around 10%. At the same time, greenhouse gas emissions decreased by 40%.

“These numbers show that the expansion of the digital economy and data usage hasn’t driven energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The industry’s efforts in energy efficiency have yielded significant results. These efforts need to continue – and accelerate – as societies continue the transition to higher speed networks, most notably 5G and fiber. Telecom operators need to look at every opportunity of using 100% renewable electricity,” says Sara Nordbrand.

Telia Company uses 100% renewable electricity
From 2020 and onwards, Telia Company’s operations are powered by 100% renewable electricity. This is a critical milestone for executing on the company’s environmental goals. In Sweden, Telia is the only telecom operator to use electricity labelled “Good Environmental Choice” (Bra Miljöval), which represents the strictest environmental criteria, approved by the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation (SSNC).

GMSA survey
https://www.teliacompany.com/en/sustainability/
https://www.telia.se/privat/om/miljo