NGMN Defines Industry Standard for a “Global Green Networks Benchmark”
Frankfurt, Germany, January 18, 2022: The Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance (NGMN Alliance) today announces the establishment of methodologies and KPIs for a Global Green Networks Benchmark. The Alliance’s new initiative is part of its Green Future Networks Programme and is set for generating a global standard for the industry. While current mobile network benchmarks mostly concentrate on comparing service quality and user experience, the new Global Green Networks Benchmark will place the focus on green network operations.
Arash Ashouriha, SVP Group Technology Innovation, Deutsche Telekom and Chairman of the NGMN Board states: ”Implementing concrete actions to mitigate climate action is a key priority for our industry. At Deutsche Telekom, our goal is to make sure that everyone can #takepart and connect over a green network. We are committed to ambitious net zero targets and are continuously optimizing our network to ensure the best quality for our customers while striving to systematically reduce the energy consumption. The Global Green Networks Benchmark from NGMN will certainly help the entire telco industry by providing transparency regarding the operator’s sustainability. In addition, it offers operators a unique opportunity to prove their sustainability credentials towards their customers and be recognized for the positive environmental and societal impact.”
Anita Döhler, CEO at NGMN, emphasizes: “There is a clear need for a Global Green Networks Benchmark. Being recognized for the operation of Green Networks will encourage Mobile Network Operators to engage even more in exploring innovative methods and solutions to implement their networks in an energy efficient manner and to increase the focus on reducing the E2E services’ environmental footprint, for instance, through improved eco-design of products and the implementation of new business models fostering a circular economy. Such efforts will also stimulate supplier innovation.”
The general objectives of this NGMN initiative are:
- to establish globally applicable KPIs and methodologies,
- to define a global evaluation methodology, and
- to define the data sources for the assessment and how such data are obtained
In the first step, the benchmark will focus on high level sustainability indicators, followed by more detailed assessments at subsequent stages.
The networks’ traffic volume is expected to increase exponentially in the coming years and keeping the energy curve flat will be a challenge for the industry. In addition, climate change is becoming one of the major concerns from the end-user perspective resulting in more and more end-users looking for sustainable services from their network providers. Although many operators have committed to net-zero targets, there is a high potential in improving network energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which NGMN is addressing with all its Green Future Networks’ activities.
NGMN invites interested industry players to join this new endeavor for the benefit of the global ecosystem.
