AI key to reducing fast-rising network energy demand and emissions: Nokia/GSMAi report

Further, Nokia and GSMA Intelligence also released a separate white paper that projects the widescale implementation of mobile and digital technologies over the next 10 years could accelerate a reduction in carbon emissions in the four top carbon-emitting industries, which account for 80% of global carbon emissions.

Communication service providers (CSPs) around the world are counting on artificial intelligence (AI) to reduce fast-rising network energy demand and emissions, spurred by internet traffic growth, according to a new report by Nokia and GSMA Intelligence (GSMAi).

GSMAi and Nokia surveyed more than 100 mobile service providers, globally, on a variety of energy efficiency issues and found that AI is likely to progress further as an energy-efficiency solution over time.

AI has clear and tangible benefits to improving the energy efficiency of telecom networks and is a big part of the solution in driving sustainable 5G networks. It's important to deploy AI early in order to train the algorithms and continually optimize network ops and costs over the long run

Tim Hatt, Head of Research and Consulting at GSMA Intelligence

Below are the key findings of the survey:

• 83% of respondents see energy efficiency as a major network transformation driver that will only become more important over time
• 67% expect their energy costs to rise over the next three years based on current trends, with one-third saying the increase could be 10% or more
• The majority of CSPs (78%) see AI as very or extremely effective at delivering energy-efficiency improvements.
• 41% of respondents said they are in the initial phase of commercially deploying AI-driven solutions and consider them fundamental to their energy-efficiency strategies in the next five years.
• Nearly 50% of CSPs expect to achieve energy savings of 10% to 20% over the next two years as AI energy solutions are rolled out and optimized.

"AI solutions hold the promise of realizing quick and substantial energy efficiency gains and ensure we fully live up to our environmental and social responsibilities," said Volker Held, Head of Marketing for Managed Services, Cloud & Network Services at Nokia.

Further, Nokia and GSMA Intelligence also released a separate white paper that projects the widescale implementation of mobile and digital technologies over the next 10 years could accelerate a reduction in carbon emissions in the four top carbon-emitting industries, which account for 80% of global carbon emissions.