Worldwide, the information and communications technology (ICT) sector is expected to contribute around 3 per cent of the global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2020.

While globally the telecom sector contributes around 0.7 per cent of the total GHG emissions, the corresponding figure in India is 1 per cent. Though this figure does not appear as significant in absolute terms, the rapid telecom growth envisaged over the next decade calls for an effort to contain and reduce the telecom sector’s carbon footprint. Recognising this fact, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) recently released its recommendations on the “Approach Towards Green Telecommunications”.

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

The key recommendations of TRAI are as follows:

•  Measures to make the telecom sector green should be an integral part of the proposed National Telecom Policy.

•  By 2015, at least 50 per cent of all rural towers and 33 per cent of urban towers should be powered by hybrid power (renewable energy technologies [RET] plus grid power), while all rural towers and 50 per cent of urban towers should be hybrid powered by 2020.

• All telecom products, equipment and services in the telecom network should be energy- and performance-assessed, and Green Passport (GP) certified, utilising the energy consumption rating (ECR), as well as the energy “passport” determined by 2015.

•           The Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC) should be the nodal centre to certify telecom products, equipment and services on the basis of ECR ratings. The TEC can either appoint independent certifying agencies under its guidance or certify the same through its quality assurance teams.

•  By 2015, all mobile phones should be free of brominates, 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 the collection of e-waste – mobile phones, batteries, chargers, etc. The e-waste should be safely disposed or recycled as per prevailing standards. The collection, storage, transportation, segregation, refurbishment, dismantling, recycling and disposal of all e-waste should 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. The declaration of the carbon footprint should be done twice a year.

•  All service providers, through their service associations, should adopt a voluntary code of practice encompassing energy efficient network planning, active infrastructure 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 by 2020, the total power consumption of each base transceiver station does not exceed 500 W.

•  Sharing of 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 200 m in urban areas and within 2 km in rural areas). Service providers should plan to actively share at least 10 per cent of their sites by 2014.

•  A phased programme should be put into place by telecom service providers to have their cell sites, particularly those in 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 rural areas are powered by hybrid renewable sources by 2015.

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

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

Based on the details of footprints declared by all service providers, they should aim to achieve carbon emission reductions for their mobile networks at 8 per cent by 2012-2013, 12 per cent by 2014-15, 17 per cent by 2016-17 and 25 per cent by 2018-19.