Building on current network energy efficiency efforts, expanding the promotion of broadband’s dematerialization benefits, identifying standards gaps and new opportunities for future collaboration, were the key drivers behind the Broadband Forum-organized Broadband Network Energy Efficiency Summit held in Paris.<\/p>\n
Leading standards bodies and industry fora including ATIS, ETSI, HGI, GeSI EE-IOCG, the ITU-T and the Broadband Forum met in a private summit to bring together experts to address green telecom issues.<\/p>\n
The Summit included interactive discussions regarding recent achievements, current work in progress, areas of potential overlap and new opportunities for liaison and joint activity. The discussion highlighted areas of collaboration and began to spell out the actions required to move the industry forward.<\/p>\n
Malcolm Johnson, Director of Telecommunication Standardization Bureau (TSB) at the ITU-T, said: “The ICT industry is already very responsible and proactive in terms of its own carbon footprint and using ICTs to combat climate change in all sectors, such as empowering the potential impact of travel reductions on the carbon footprint, and it’s very important for the industry to be passing on the message of these dematerialization benefits. It was hugely positive for all the organizations involved to come together for the Broadband Network Energy Efficiency Summit, building on the work already underway and discussing ways to continue the momentum.”<\/p>\n
The meeting agreed to pursue a high level agreement on specific areas of activity and collaboration. In the first place this will include an analysis of current work to ensure we reduce overlap and move to address any gaps identified.<\/p>\n
“The summit has been a chance to bring together senior experts from across the industry and what I am encouraged by is that these are people who want to act – who actually want to do something rather than just talk. We must establish cooperation for the good of the industry and the world and I hope we will look back at today’s event as a turning point in turning words into action and delivery,” said Flavio Cucchietti, Senior Project Manager at Telecom Italia, representing GeSI EE-IOCG.<\/p>\n
“Energy efficiency is an important part of our work and we very much welcomed the opportunity to take part in the energy efficiency Summit. Service providers across the world have an opportunity to offer smart energy usage of all types, from broadband to all aspects of home automation, and a gathering like this can only help us to work together to find solutions to help them achieve their goals,” Duncan Bees, Chief Technology and Business Officer of Home Gateway Initiative.<\/p>\n
“ETSI has a proud record in standards work and development and we were delighted to be taking part in today’s Broadband Forum-inspired Summit. We started to work in Energy efficiency and on ecological aspect some years ago publishing some documents on this,” said Paolo Gemma, Secretary of ETSI Technical Committee Environmental Engineering.<\/p>\n
“At the Broadband Forum, we are already working on energy efficiency but we did not wish to do so in isolation – possibly duplicating the efforts of others and equally possibly leaving gaps that need attention,” said Kevin Foster, Head of Access Innovation at BT and Chairman of the Broadband Forum Oversight Committee.<\/p>\n