How can India service providers leverage adaptive networks for more sustainable operations?

With 2023 officially declared the warmest year since 1850, it is not surprising that the Indian government and businesses are feeling a growing urgency to adopt sustainable practices and processes.

The Indian government reiterated its commitment to sustainability by setting the ambitious target of becoming net zero by 2070. To this end, it is taking several initiatives to bring down carbon emissions. For instance, the Indian Railways, the world’s fourth largest national railway system, which contributes 4 per cent of the country’s transportation emissions, is aiming to achieve net zero emissions by 2030. Among other measures, the Indian government is also promoting the adoption of electric vehicles to reduce emissions by 45 per cent by 2030.

Sustainability and the Indian telecom industry  

The telecom industry doing its part and supporting the government reach its net-zero targets. As an example, Reliance Industries, India’s biggest business conglomerate and parent company of the country’s biggest service provider, Reliance Jio, has set a target of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2035. Additionally, Bharti Airtel, India’s second-largest service provider, has pledged to become a net-zero company by 2050.

Indian service providers are exploring new technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), to enhance operational efficiency and improve asset optimisation, which can help them reduce carbon emissions and realise their sustainability goals. Service providers are also looking at network transformation, which not only enables them to address network inefficiencies, but also helps to reduce power consumption by using less space and storage.

Adopting new products and solutions can help Indian service providers improve network capacity while minimising waste. These service providers are also modernising their networks by replacing legacy and energy-intensive network gear with sustainable gear and new-age, energy-efficient network architecture.

Software-driven approach for more sustainable network operations 

Significantly, modern new-age networks are software-centric with AI and ML capabilities that automate several components of network operations, leading to more energy-efficient operations. Remote network management and troubleshooting allow network operators to minimize their carbon emissions by reducing the physical resources required for installations and repairs.

Service providers can also use cloud-native network functions (CNFs) to host and manage network functions in the cloud, thus eliminating the need to use expensive physical network devices that typically occupy large spaces and consume considerable power.

Service providers can also combine open application programming interfaces (APIs) with dynamic inventory capabilities to proactively decommission or replace equipment before it leads to downtime. A key component of modern networks is enhanced visibility in the network assets using AI and ML-based analytics for improved control over the networks. This not only helps service providers scale network capacity according to emerging consumption patterns but also better manage sudden or unexpected surges in traffic. This way, they are able to maximise bandwidth utilisation without over-provisioning the resources.

Autonomous networks or adaptive networks?

Another trend that promotes more sustainable network operations is autonomous networks. These networks can configure, monitor, and maintain networks with minimal or no human intervention. Even so, successful autonomous network deployment depends on several factors, such as field experience.

In addition, service providers have been demanding more control over their networks, which is not possible with autonomous networks. A fully autonomous network implies the elimination of all human intervention from the management and operations of the network. Adaptive networks go beyond simple autonomy and are more effective for service providers to leverage automation while maintaining control over their networks.

Adaptive networks enable service providers to streamline their operations by using AI and ML and optimise the number of wavelengths, which helps bring down energy consumption. The service providers can ensure sustainable operations throughout the lifecycle by leveraging the three tenets of adaptive networks, programmability, software-powered control, and automation and analytics. While analytics can provide insights to optimise hardware utilisation to minimise infrastructure deployments, intelligent automation can help service providers quickly activate or scale down network functions as per demand. On the other hand, programmable networks allow service providers to bring down space and power consumption by achieving more with less.

Indian service providers are under immense pressure to enhance their network capacity and improve their network experience as digital consumers mature. Letting go of obsolete gear to make way for adaptive networks can help Indian service providers realise vast potential of AI and ML while moving closer to their sustainable goals.