By partnering with AWS on public cloud, operators can leverage renewable-powered data centers and silicon innovation to drive 5G sustainability strategies
Against the backdrop of a shift from shareholder to stakeholder capitalism, the current and future impacts of climate change, and the simple moral imperative, many large global corporations have well-articulated environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategies and net-zero targets. The global ICT sector, particularly telecommunications operators and cloud providers, have a key role to play in the march to carbon neutrality. Given the broad applicability of 5G to digital transformation, operators have the opportunity to build 5G out in a way that’s more sustainable than previous generations of cellular, but also in a way that can enable more sustainable outcomes to enterprise customers.
As operators look to capture new service revenues while keeping 5G sustainability top-of-mind, AWS Director of Telco Business Development Sameer Vuyyuru stressed that, “Energy savings, the cost of energy, is becoming a prohibitor for growth. But, more important, just saving energy, going net zero, is the right thing for the planet.” Operators can take advantage of AWS investments into renewable data centers, silicon innovation and technology ecosystem to meet the parallel goals of reducing power consumption and service differentiation.
Watch the full interview with Vuyyuru here:
With operators increasingly exploring the public cloud, energy-smart operations, infrastructure modernization and other factors that touch 5G sustainability, they are effectively building a more flexible, performant network. This has clear opex-related internal implications, but also positions operators to capture new service revenues by enabling enterprise use cases in high-value sectors like manufacturing, healthcare and transportation. Equipped with new 5G-connected applications focused on process optimization and efficiency, these businesses can make themselves more environmentally sustainable, creating something of a virtuous cycle.
AWS also has a key role to play here, Vuyyuru explained, noting AWS’s expansive set of ISV partners with deep vertical expertise. “We’re on a mission to make AWS the best place to run networks whether wired or wireless,” he said. The 100,00-plus strong pool of ISVs running natively on AWS means operators “can pick and choose the right set of partners for the right network at the right time running the right workload…It’s that ability to have choice on AWS.” Further, in terms of quickly expanding the geographic reach of a network and attendant services, “Wherever you want to expand your network, it’s probably a shorter path with us than anyone else,” Vuyyuru said.
Focusing on the silicon innovation angle, he gave the example of AWS’s work with NTT DoCoMo and NEC. The companies completed a technical trial to test the energy efficiency and performance of the AWS Graviton 2 processors in the operator’s cloud-native 5G core. The project demonstrated an average of 72% reduction in power consumption compared to x86 processors when running NEC software on AWS Graviton 2-powered cloud infrastructure and Elastic Compute Cloud environment.
“These are real significant numbers,” Vuyyuru said. “If you can run an application in the public cloud, hopefully on AWS,…you look at ways to do that because it is the fastest path to reduce your energy consumption.”
During the RCR Live: Telco Reinvention event, Vuyyuru also participated in a panel examining the journey to carbon-neutral networks alongside Herve´ Suquet, vice president of the Orange Energy Group, Vodafone Head of Energy and Infrastructure Francesca Serravalle, and Juan Francisco Redondo, ThreeUK’s head of RAN and transport strategy and architecture; GSMA Head of Climate Action Steven Moore served as moderator. That full panel session is available on-demand here along with the entire RCR Live: Telco Reinvention program.
