The wider societal implications from the Internet of Things relates to new opportunities for operators and network equipment providers. This is in providing the backbone that supplies the main connectivity between billions of cloud applications and sensors.
This possibility is one of the measures set out in a recent white paper issued by the World Economic Forum. The report is titled “Digital Transformation Initiative: Telecommunications Industry.” Developed with the technology company Accenture, the main findings of the report for the telecoms sector have been discussed in the Digital Journal article “Internet of Things is starting to disrupt telecoms.”
Telecom’s carbon footprint
The report estimates that adoption of Internet of Things services across automotive, home-energy management and logistics fleet management should lead to 26 million tons of avoided carbon dioxide emissions over the period 2018-2028. This is an important consideration since the telecom sector contributes an equivalent level of carbon emissions to the aviation industry, according to ECN.
The dilemma facing telecoms is how to increase capacity while, at the same time, reducing energy. The Internet of Things provides solutions that the telecom sector can apply internally and in relation to services provided to other customers.
Automation reduces energy demand
As to how this might play out within the telecom field the report considers, for areas like automotive infotainment, how signals could be delivered more effectively using improved route optimization. This reduces energy use between media centers (and thus a lower emissions impact).
In addition, smart and connected technology , such as that used for GPS and vehicle tracking can lead to less time being spent driving around over distances and looking for parking. Here the savings are both in monetary terms and with time.
Healthcare
In a different area – health – intelligent and connected digital health devices, enabled by telecom companies, could substantially reduce healthcare costs globally (up to $47 billion) and reduce the amount of energy expended, which in turn reduces energy demand.
Smart business premises
Another area is with smart buildings – office and warehouses – where intelligent and connected systems can switch off heating when rooms are unoccupied and control lighting down to lower levels when certain spaces are not in use. In addition smart meters can be used to aid business in monitoring energy consumption; including pinpointing where the greatest use is coming from. Here the greatest value is with the collected data. In addition, advanced cooling technology can be used in data centers, lower energy use.
With business services, telecoms can develop next-generation communication networks in the form of a network of networks designed on a more sustainable basis so that power usage can be minimized (companies can, for example, concentrate their operations into fewer buildings). This can lead to interactions that take place over the shortest routes. In addition, newer equipment also tends to require less power.
