It seems as if the recent smart mobile initiatives of companies looking to break into the smart products sector has paid off. Specifically, mobile network operators worldwide have made some bold moves recently in the smart mobile market in attempts to improve the energy efficiency of their wireless networks, while simultaneously reducing the carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions that come with network operations.  

Pike Research, a market research and consulting firm that provides in-depth analysis of global clean technology markets, released a report titled, “Green Telecom Networks,” that discusses that these efforts have not gone unnoticed.

Results have shown that these company-wide – and industry-wide – initiatives will be driven by the desire for lower energy operating expenses, corporate social responsibility initiatives and some cases by government mandates. 

Specifically, Pike predicted that the “green” network upgrades will result in the reduction of network carbon emissions by 42 percent by 2013, compared to business-as-usual trends.

Clint Weelock, Pike managing director, said that mobile operators have strong incentives for deploying greener networks. 

“These upgrades include the integration of clean energy sources such as solar, wind and fuel cells, together with more energy-efficient network equipment including base stations and RF power amplifiers, and more efficient network architectures and topologies,” Wheelock said. 

Additionally, a new trend of carriers making a transition from a business planning process focused on capital expenditures to one that accounts for total cost of ownership including ongoing operating expenses has taken hold. 

Pike’s report said that Asia Pacific, enjoying strong growth in cell site deployments, will be the leading region for carbon emissions reduction versus business-as-usual, followed by Europe and North America. And, the report cited that the global market for green mobile capital expenditures will reach $80.8 billion by 2013.