Globally, the information and communications technology (ICT) sector is expected to contribute around 3 per cent of the global emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) by the year 2020.  While globally, the telecommunications sector contributes around 0.7 per cent of the global GHG emissions, the corresponding figure in India is 1 per cent.  Though this figure does not appear as significant in absolute terms, the rapid growth of telecommunications envisaged over the next decade deems it necessary to contain and reduce the carbon footprint. Recognising this fact, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has recently released its recommendations on the ?Approach Towards Green Telecommunications?. 

According to TRAI, carbon emissions in the telecom sector are mainly in three areas – network operations, manufacturing of telecom equipments and disposal of telecom waste.

TRAI?s key recommendations are:

  • Measures to green the telecommunication sector should be an integral part of the proposed National Telecom Policy with setting of broad direction and goals. 
  • In the next five years, at least 50 per cent of all rural towers and 33 per cent of the urban towers should be powered by hybrid power (renewable energy technologies (RET) and grid power) by 2015, while all rural towers and 50 per cent of urban towers are to be hybrid powered by 2020.
  • All telecom products, equipments and services in the telecom network should be energy and performance assessed and certified ?Green Passport [GP]? utilising the ECR?s rating and the energy ?passport? determined by the year 2015.
  • The Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC) should be the nodal centre to certify telecom products, equipments and services on the basis of ECR ratings. TEC can either appoint independent certifying agencies under its guidance or will certify the same through its quality assurance teams.
  • By 2015, all mobile phones should be free of brominates and chlorinated compounds and antimony trioxide in accordance with the e-waste (management and handling) rules 2010, proposed by the ministry of environment and forests to be followed by all telecom manufacturers, as and when notified.
  • All mobile manufacturers/ distributors should be required to place collection bins at appropriate places for collection of e-waste ? mobile phones, batteries, chargers etc. The e-waste should be safely disposed or recycled as per the prevailing standards. The collection, storage, transportation, segregation, refurbishment, dismantling recycling and disposal of all e-waste shall be in accordance with the procedures prescribed in the guidelines by the Pollution Control Boards from time to time.
  • All service providers should declare to TRAI, the carbon footprint of their network operations in the prescribed format. This declaration should be undertaken after adopting the prescribed formulae and procedures. This should be done twice in a year.
  • All service providers, through their service associations, should adopt a voluntary code of practice encompassing energy efficient network planning, active infra-sharing, deployment of energy efficient technologies and adoption of RET including the following elements:

-The network operators should progressively induct carefully designed and optimised energy efficient radio networks that reduce overall power and energy consumption.

-Service providers should endeavour to ensure that the total power consumption of each BTS should not exceed 500W by the year 2020.

-Sharing of the infrastructure using passive as well active methodologies should be done to minimise the eventuality of locating new sites within the vicinity of existing towers [within 200m, in urban areas and within 2 Km, in rural areas].  Service providers should plan to have at least 10 per cent of their sites actively shared by the year 2014.  

-A phased programme should be put in place by the telecom service providers to have their cell sites, particularly in the rural areas, powered by hybrid renewable sources including wind energy, solar energy, fuel cells or a combination thereof. The eventual goal under this phased programme is to ensure that around 50 per cent of all towers in the rural areas are powered by hybrid renewable sources by the year 2015.

-Service providers through their associations should consensually evolve the voluntary code of practice and submit the same to TRAI before the end of July 2011.

To conclude, all service providers should evolve a ?Carbon Credit Policy? in line with carbon credits norms with the ultimate objective of attaining full carbon neutral footprints in rural areas and with 50 per cent carbon neutral footprint in urban areas by the year 2020. The base year for calculating all existing carbon footprints would be 2011, with an implementation period of one year. Hence the first year of carbon reduction would be the year 2012.

Based on the details of footprints declared by all service providers, service providers should aim at carbon emission reduction targets for the mobile network at  8 per cent by the year 2012-2013, 12 per cent by the year 2014-2015,  17 per cent by the year 2016-2017 and 25 per cent by the year 2018-2019.