Sustainable Fibre

Improving energy efficiency The role of fibre in improving energy efficiency The sky-rocketing growth of data traffic in an ever more connected Europe also means that more energy will have to be dedicated to processing this data. However, this does not necessarily have to be the case, as beyond fibre’s near-unlimited bandwidth capacity, it is also more energy efficient than other solutions. Optical fibre helps to reduce energy consumption, in production and when in use. During production, this is facilitated by the potential to switch offwhen the graphite furnace is unutilised. 1 These gains can then be further built upon when optical fibre is being utilised, across networks (fromfixed networks tomobile front/ back/midhaul), and for last mile connectivity. This is possible through its use of spectrumwhich can be lit on demand – rather than constantly – at each end point. 2 Bend-insensitive singlemode fibre is also the only fibre capable of securing the whole fibre spectrum, especially at the longer wavelengths (1,625 nmand above), by minimising losses linked tomacro- andmicro bends. 3 The outcome of this is reduced consumption, as demonstrated below: fibre far outperforms its rivals in terms of minimising annual consumption. Fibre’s contribution to a more sustainable Europe 1 SUSTAINABILITY IN FOS ENERGY SAVING, Battipaglia, February 2021 2 Europacable, ‘Energy efficiency in networks – study outcomes’, 9 June 2020 3 Whitepaper on bend insensitive fibre 4 BrekoStudyNachhaltigkeitsvergleichder Zugangsnetz-Technologien, FTTC und FTTH, May 2020, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Kristof Obermann 6000 5000 4000 3000 2000 1000 0 Annual consumption (Wh) Fibre ADSL PSTN Mobile Source: ARCEP, Future Networks – Digital tech’s carbon footprint (21 October 2019) Fibre enhances efficiency of mobile networks Specifically when used to connect an antenna; it reduces energy consumption, while still ensuring the ability to handle extra constraints on the optical network. This makes fibre vital for fixed, enterprise and mobile customers, and as such, is an essential asset common to all telecoms networks. This is important given the increasing wavelength requirements of passive optical networks and the proliferation of 5G as Europe pushes for its rollout across the bloc. Fibre is also more energy efficient as it has enhanced stability and reliability. And it has a longer lifespan due to its bend resistance. 4 This enhances its repair resilience, meaning that it has a longer expected network lifetime – particularly important in dynamic network environments. This saves money for ompanies, but more importantly reduces the carbon footprint of the telecoms sector as there is less material being used. In summary, fibre ismore energy efficient through its reduced energy consumption, its reliability, its longer lifespan and its future-proofed capacities, evenmore sowhen choosing a high-quality bend-insensitive fibre. (Amongst the various international standard fibre families, the choice of a G.657.A2 fibre type is recommended formaximising robustness and future-fit.) Future-proofed solutions Prysmian fibre solutions bring added benefits as they are geared for the future. This contributes to reduced energy consumption as it means any changes to networks – from 5G, to 6G to future generations, or to Open RAN – will not mean replacing full sets of equipment or adding newmaterials. Prysmian solutions do this through offering: • Smaller connectivity devices – meaning easier installation and use of smaller ducts. • Optimised total cost of ownership – making networks quicker and easier to install, and more ‘future-fit’. • Pay-as-you-grow – enhances scalability and reduces upgrade costs. • OPEX savings – thanks to easy installation and superior robustness. 5