5G Mobile Technology Set to Bring Climate Dividend, Helps Green Tech Across Africa

Expanding fast, reliable internet access across Africa will bring advantages for society, business and the climate. But with operators mainly focused on profit, environmental solutions often take a back seat to cost.

Mobile internet usage has exploded throughout Africa over the past decade while mobile broadband connections are expected to surpass 1.08 billion by 2024, according to industry data.

“Generally, across Africa continent, mobile devices remain the primary avenue for people to access the internet in place of laptops and similar digital devices,” said Juliet Nanfuka of the group Collaboration on International ICT Policy in East and Southern Africa (CIPESA), which works to support development and reduce poverty through communication technologies.

The rapid growth of mobile internet is expected to continue, with the World Bank aiming to achieve universal “affordable and good quality broadband access” in Africa by 2030. That would add nearly 1.1 billion new users to the continent’s network between now and the end of the decade, at a cost of roughly $109 billion (€ 92.5 billion) for 4G service or equivalent.

To avoid the added burden of CO2 emissions resulting from this tremendous expansion, the information and communications technology (ICT) sector will have to invest in climate-friendly solutions for its new data centers and transmission networks.

5G is a wireless technology that provides many advantages over its predecessors, including higher download rates, the ability to connect to more devices, and lower ping. The use of 5G will see more Internet of Things (IoT) devices and as such, more substantial energy consumption from the IoT and smart sector.

While devices with 5G capabilities may consume less energy than those using older technologies, it is the smart capabilities of those devices, and the ability to communicate via 5G, that will contribute towards reductions in CO2 production.

Recently, telecom O2 announced that they believe that 5G technology will help the green economy, and result in a reduction of overall CO2 or carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas contributing to global climate change) emissions. The report produced by O2 claims that utilities and home energy could see the removal of up to 181 megatons of CO2, 43 megatons from the automotive industry, and 40 megatons from manufacturing by 2035.

According to O2, 5G will help to remove 181 megatons of CO2 from the atmosphere by 2035.

Global greenhouse gas emissions caused by the ICT sector are expected to rise to 900 metric tons by 2030 — last year, that figure was already at 800 metric tons. If that projection holds true, the industry’s climate footprint would increase to roughly 2% of worldwide emissions by the end of the decade, noted a 2019 report by the Global Enabling Sustainability Initiative (GeSI), which focuses on how digital tech can help society and the environment.

That might not seem like much — though it’s about the same as the yearly contribution by the global aviation business — but if left unchecked it could balloon to around 14% by 2040, according to projections by the European Commission. 

Still, successful efforts to green the ICT sector would do more than just cut those emissions. Knock-on effects across the continent could end up boosting the development of renewable energy and drive sustainable growth in sectors like business and agriculture.

How 5G can help the climate

5G, the latest generation of wireless mobile technology said to be 100 times faster than the current standard, began rolling out in Europe, Southeast Asia, and North America in early 2019.

With wireless internet available everywhere — using much less energy to transmit data — more people will be able to work remotely and hook up countless energy-saving devices and sensors that can, for example, detect pollution, monitor and regulate water use and reduce traffic congestion.

But it will be some time before this climate-friendly tech is widespread in Africa; more than 50% of the continent’s network coverage is currently served by 3G or lower.

Preliminary research released on September 10 by Germany’s Federal Environment Agency (UBA) showed that data transmission over 3G mobile networks — still one of the most widely used technologies for internet-connected devices around the world — generates 90 grams of CO2 per hour of high-definition video streaming per device, factoring in the energy used by the data center and transmission.

That’s equivalent to powering a 100-watt light bulb or a desktop computer for around three hours, depending on the model.

The ongoing 5G shift is expected to reduce that environmental toll by emitting only about 5 grams of CO2 per hour.

But the UBA research found that fixed broadband services delivered through cables were still the best when it came to emissions, with fiber-optic connections producing only 2 grams of CO2 per hour. Copper cables, which have been used in circuitry and wiring for decades and are still widespread today, are responsible for around 4 grams of CO2 per hour.

Environmental Costs Vs. Universal Access

Presenting the UBA data, German Environment Minister Svenja Schulze emphasized that climate-friendly ICT networks were possible, even with the expected increase in data streaming in the coming years, “if you do it right and choose the right method for data transmission.”

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Noting the low climate cost of fiber-optic connections, Schulze suggested that public Wi-Fi hot spots could be a better alternative to mobile streaming. But while that may be a good option for Europe and other regions with well-established broadband networks, the cost of fiber-optic networks can be prohibitive in certain regions of Africa. Free, reliable public access to the internet also remains rare across the continent, limited to urban centers in a handful of countries