Countries around the world have been coming up with a variety of creative “double-carbon” goals to tackle the global energy crisis. The principles of “carbon peak, carbon neutrality”, have also been adopted as a social responsibility by the information and communication technology (ICT) industry to meet increased demand for low-carbon ICT networks, with utmost urgency. Currently, major international operators are formulating carbon-neutral network strategies, with more than 29 operators in the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) announcing their carbon reduction targets. For instance, British operator Vodafone targets a 50% carbon reduction by 2025 and carbon neutrality by 2040. Spanish Telefonica has set its sights on 50% carbon reduction by 2025. French operator Orange targets carbon neutrality by 2040, while the carbon-reduction leader Deutsche Telekom has initiated a green network strategy in 2017 and has already achieved carbon reduction of 60%.
China’s communications services industry is expanding rapidly, and it is estimated that carbon emission values will reach US$ 15 billion by 2030, with reference to the current carbon emission volume trajectory by Chinese operators. Therefore, Chinese operators have proactively formulated relevant pinpointing strategies, with the aim of helping our country achieve the “double-carbon” target, and simultaneously motivating “self-greening revolution”. This ultimately enhances our competitiveness and sustainable development.
China Mobile’s “low-carbon” network construction and operation mode
In light of China’s “double-carbon” goals, the construction of communication networks and operation models is increasingly moving in the low-carbon and high effectiveness direction. China Mobile has been proactively studying and implementing “low-carbon” network construction and operation models.
First and foremost, when promoting the transformation of communication energy to information energy, it is crucial to deeply integrate ICT technology with energy technology, fully achieving the digitization, networking and intelligence of energy conversion, storage and control. It can also help attain high-density integration, efficient operation, and smart maintenance. Simultaneously, to construct a low-carbon energy network for sustainable ICT requires building an integrated network from components to systems, adopting both renewable and traditional energy through technological advancement, product innovation and application.
Secondly, China Mobile’s top-down planning and design of low-carbon solutions is sophisticated, comprising construction, operation, maintenance, and management dimensions, for a comprehensive strategy with low-carbon network construction, operation and maintenance. For example, replacing manual inspection with remote inspection reduces ineffective site visits and therefore carbon emissions from vehicles. Substituting mobile oil engine generation with mobile energy storage in the process of operation and maintenance reduces carbon emissions from oil engines. This ongoing digitalization of infrastructure and systems reflects the importance China Mobile places on power consumption and making energy efficiency visible, manageable, and controllable. It also helps avoid high energy consumption when using the equipment.
In response to surging demand and energy construction challenges relating to 5G technology, China Mobile has rolled out a series of innovative energy-saving products and solutions. The 5G Power Cabinet, an integrated base station power system, can help realize one cabinet for one site and dynamic cooling for the construction of base station. For Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) construction, the outdoor comprehensive cabinet is launched to meet the needs of all-in-one cabinet for installation, power supply, cooling and storage of various types of ICT equipment. These solutions need less installation space and modification, ensuring fast deployment. By deploying these energy management solutions, the facility construction period can be shortened by about 90%, while reducing investment by 30% to 40% and land area by 30%-60%. It also improves energy efficiency by 8% to 17% and facilitates 5G as well as the construction and operation of low-carbon data centers. This solution has been launched and applied to operators in China, Thailand, Pakistan and other countries and regions, and has received positive feedback.
China Mobile comprehensively deploys global ‘low-carbon’ digital infrastructure
The China Mobile Sustainable Report 2021 was officially published in June 2022. The report illustrates that China Mobile has implemented a “Green Action Plan” for 15 consecutive years, proactively exploring organic and unified energy-saving and emissions reduction for itself, industry and society as a whole, while promoting sustainable development. As China Mobile’s subsidiary, China Mobile International (CMI) has also been consistently promoting carbon reduction and energy saving, building green data centers.
In 2020, CMI Global Network Center (GNC), located in Hong Kong, has reduced carbon emissions over 1.53m kg and saved electricity consumption over 3.06m kilowatt hours. The China Mobile Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area Hong Kong Fo Tan Data Centre under construction is adopting a low-carbon approach for Fo Tan Data Center, which will have an average power usage effectiveness (PUE) rating of less than 1.3 and an extended life expectancy. The new data center will be equipped with an AI system to maximize efficiency in six critical areas: Material & Resources, Water Efficiency, Energy Efficiency, Sustainable Sites, Smart Building and Transportation and Indoor Environmental Quality. This approach aims to explore energy conservation and emissions reduction for greener data centers. With a focus on robust infrastructure, life-cycle impact reduction, sustainability, green-planting, renewable energy, AI technology and green certification, CMI is positioning Fo Tan Data Center as a reliable and environment-friendly data center and an industry leader. The new data center is also aiming for green building certifications such as BEAM Plus and LEED Gold.
CMI is committed to creating three-dimensional, high-speed infrastructure of “cable systems, PoPs and data centers’ to empower digitalization and intelligence. Currently, CMI has more than 70 submarine and land communication cables worldwide, successfully surpassing the 110T international transmission bandwidth, with up to 225 PoPs . There are 4 self-owned data centers in Hong Kong, China (launched in Nov 2014), Singapore (launched in July 2019), London (launched in Dec 2019) and Frankfurt (launched in Feb 2021). With Hong Kong, China as its launchpad, CMI has significantly accelerated global IDC development, creating a strong network for data center cloudification.
CMI insists on green development and operates green data centers. At the beginning of the construction of each data center, the priority is given to energy saving and emission reduction. Firstly, our data centers are adopting high efficiency and low carbon intelligent technology with higher temperature and AC direct supply power distribution architecture. A data center with the capability of loading 200,000 servers can reduce electricity consumption up to 120m kilowatt hours per year. Secondly, the data center is equipped with a series of intelligent IoT technologies including intelligent temperature and humidity sensor, intelligent air sensing, intelligent lighting control with motion sensor, intelligent door control, intelligent server racks, intelligent cleaning. More than 100,000 nodes in the whole data center realize intelligent collection and intelligent sensing, reducing data center cooling load and carbon emission.
To operate its data centers more efficiently, CMI is constructing an AI platform to adjust each unit to achieve the best operating conditions. Each data center is equipped with an AI system using machine learning algorithms, data model training, AI neural network analysis etc., to help analyze IT load, data room temperature and humidity, outdoor temperature and humidity monitoring data in real time, which can respond to adjust the operating parameters of the air conditioner, the exhaust fan, the central chiller water temperature, and the chiller pipeline valve, to reduce the energy consumption of the air conditioning system.\
In future, CMI will adopt more new technologies for achieving energy conservation and emission reduction. Through exploring how renewable energy could be used around data centers including plants irrigation, pest control, CMI aims to increase the coverage of afforested areas exceeding 20% of the whole area and increase oxygen emissions. It will also enhance the intelligent cloudification of data centers, through employing robots and non-contact lifts. Meanwhile, we will actively participate in energy conservation projects organized by the government and NDPB and cooperate with eco-friendly suppliers.
Smart Campus as “Dual Control” solution, targeting all service providers and member units
Based on China Mobile's experience in domestic and international communications operations and our global digital infrastructure resources, CMI can provide professional, low-carbon, one-stop solutions for Chinese Chambers of commerce overseas, their member companies and all Chinese enterprises going global.
Campus network construction and operations usually face the following challenges: wired and wireless convergence, cross-domain, cloud network mismatch, manual operation and maintenance, low network visibility, etc. For this reason, building a reliable and stable network that is compatible with different protocols and interfaces and meets the needs of future applications is a guarantee for enterprise expansion
CMI can provide easy-to-deploy, easy-to-manage and easy-to-use network connectivity solutions for overseas companies, offering one-stop support in campus networks, SD-WAN networks and IoT technologies.
1. Converged bearer network
Converged Bearer Network is observed with the following trends: (1) Equipment networking, the need for network convergence, 5G and Wi-Fi multi-technology collaboration, full-scene connectivity etc.; (2) Smart manufacturing and digital support to satisfy the need for reliable and secure information physical system infrastructure; (3) Network intelligence, requiring a network of multiple intelligent connectivity, the whole process of intelligent operation and maintenance, the ultimate realization to achieve data upload, intelligent download, the purpose of end-to-end safety.
The development of industrial Internet business has put forward higher requirements on the campus network infrastructure. CMI campus bearer network solutions can provide customers with a future-oriented campus network to cope with the rapid scale up of enterprises, the interconnection of multiple network protocols and the demand for bandwidth from industrial Internet applications.
CMI provides integrated solutions and services from design to operation and maintenance, including integrated cabling, convergence of wired and wireless networks, monitoring services, generation of operation and maintenance, and global delivery services.
2. SD-WAN on campus
The smart campus Internet is becoming increasingly complex and the demand for a dynamic WAN is growing, requiring access to the four major requirements of wireless, one global network, automation of the entire network, and AI-driven operations and maintenance.
CMI SD-WAN solution has the following advantages: (1) Cloud application acceleration, simplifying operation and operation and maintenance; (2) Super secure architecture, supporting cloud or private deployment; (3) Application-based QOE; (4) Flexible deployment mode, taking into account physical or virtual machines, rich policies, access, aggregation and cloud deployment. SD-WAN networking solution is flexible and can realize MPLS hybrid networking, The SD-WAN networking solution is flexible and can realize MPLS hybrid networking, dual Internet networking, dual Internet + 5G/4G networking to meet the needs of customers in different scenarios.
3. IoT on Campus
CMI’s smart campus IoT solution is based on information sourcing at the sensory layer, and through IoT technology. It can provide academic customers with services in three major areas within the smart campus, including smart security (monitoring, personnel and vehicle deployment, epidemic prevention and control, etc.), smart energy and environment (energy consumption management, environmental management, smart lighting, smart sanitation), and smart services (property services, asset management, building archives).
Take asset management in smart services as an example, at present, enterprises usually face three major challenges: low efficiency in inventory, lack of awareness of asset usage status and loss, so the core demand of asset management is manageable, visible, and controllable.
CMI can implement differentiated management for different value assets, such as providing active RFID-based asset management for high-value assets (e.g., laboratory instruments, network equipment, etc.), enabling location monitoring, status monitoring, area alarms and online inventory. Passive RFID-based asset management is provided for general assets (e.g., cabinets, etc.), providing access channel testing and handheld inventory.
The parameter data of the assets are collected through active or passive RFID sensors and stored to specific servers through network transmission (fixed network, Wi-Fi, etc.). Applicators can realise asset inventory, entry registration, real-time monitoring, statistical queries through the asset management system, and can interface with the asset management ERP. The network layer can provide Wi-Fi 6 +IoT convergence solution to reduce construction and maintenance costs and help customers achieve low-carbon operations and maintenance.
4. Successful case study of applying smart campus solutions to overseas enterprise
Thai-Chinese Rayong Industrial Zone – This successful case involved a leading listed tyre manufacturing company in China and a global Fortune 500 company. Their cooperation includes weak current system integration, network cabling and management of ICT service rooms, security access control and monitoring systems, conference systems, peripheral universal access cards and alarm and environmental monitoring systems for the zone.
Electricity-saving project for an Industrial Zone in the Philippines – An industrial zone located in the Philippines had acquired an existing factory that needed renovation. The project involved the following manufacturing production line systems: modem room system, integrated cabling system, computer network and telephone system, wireless network system, video surveillance system, access control, and attendance system, public address system and conference multimedia system. Through close internal and external collaboration, CMI developed a design for the construction project and also provided transport and customs clearance services for the client during the pandemic to overcome the unexpected challenges, and the project has now been successfully delivered.
In the future, CMI will continue to pursue sustainable development as part of its corporate social responsibility, adhering to the principle of low carbon and environmental protection. It will also be an advocate to raise public awareness of the opportunities presented by green development, and a leader in achieving “carbon peak and carbon neutral” in China, as well as providing quality and professional one-stop services for more overseas Chinese enterprises to create a green ICT industry ecosystem.
Source: https://www.cmi.chinamobile.com/en/news-and-events/news/detail?id=1375