NEW DELHI: An open house discussion is being held in Delhi early next month following responses received by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India to its Consultation Paper on Approach towards Sustainable Telecommunications. The OHD will be held on 5 July 2017 on the paper which had been issued on 17 January 2017.

Later, TRAI had given extra time to stakeholders wanting to give suggestions to the efforts towards the effect of telecom on climate change and green house gas emissions, extending the date from 27 February to 14 March 2017 with counter-comments by 26 March. Following a request received from the Department of Telecom, TRAI had issued the Consultation Paper raising 14 questions.

TRAI had issued a paper on similar issues in 2012 and the DoT had in fact given directions on that basis, but new issues have cropped up with emerging technologies.

India has the second largest and fastest growing mobile telephone market in the world. Power and energy consumption for telecom network operations is by far the most important significant contributor of carbon emissions in the telecom industry.

Hence, it is important for the telecom operators to shift to energy efficient technologies and alternate sources of energy. Moreover, Going Green has also become a business necessity for telecom operators with energy costs becoming as large as 25 per cent of total network operations costs. A typical communications company spends nearly one per cent of its revenues on energy which for large operators may amount to several million rupees.

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