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Sustainability
Fiber networks as a central part of a sustainable digital infrastructure
Fiber-optic networks are the central component of a sustainable digital infrastructure. Of all Internet access technologies, they have the highest energy efficiency, the lowest CO2 consumption and offer the greatest possible protection against interference. They are also significantly more powerful than all other technologies. The German government should therefore create framework conditions that will help to further accelerate the roll-out of fiber optics in order to equip Germany with future-proof fiber optic networks as quickly as possible. Fiber optic networks not only help to make the best possible use of the potential of digitalisation for greater sustainability. They also strengthen digital participation and Germany as a business and science location, and make an important contribution to achieving German and European climate protection targets.
Published: 05 May 2022
In this positon paper, BREKO presents the significance of fiber networks as a central component of a sustainable digital infrastructure.
Sustainability comparison between access network technologies
"Although some optimistic assumptions were made with regard to FTTC and DOCSIS, and very conservative ones for FTTH, the FTTH technologies considered here are the most sustainable of all the Internet access technologies compared in every scenario - nation-wide, urban, semi-urban and rural. They are both cheaper in terms of power consumption and in terms of total weight of system equipment at the subscriber's premises."
Published: 05 May 2022
In this report, Prof. Dr. Kristof Obermann from the Technical University of Central Hesse examines various Internet access technologies in terms of their electricity and CO2 consumption.
Digitalisation and sustainable network deployment: best practices and policy demands
On the occasion of the G7 digital ministers' meeting in Düsseldorf on May 11, 2022, the associations of the German ICT industry call for a holistic view of digitalization and sustainability in the national and international context. On the one hand, the use of digital infrastructures and technologies makes it possible to save enormous resources across sectors. On the other hand, digitalization consumes energy through the use of devices and network operation, which will be constantly optimized in the interests of sustainable business. A joint association paper proposes measures on how digitalization and sustainability can be discussed together nationally and internationally.