How do we cut the energy consumption of mobile basestations? Researchers around the world are working on it, say Peter Grant and Simon Fletcher. WHAT ARE we going to do about mobile basestations, the most energy-intensive part of a 3G cellular network? The UK is already committed to reducing the amount of CO_2 it emits in 2050 to 20 per cent of the levels seen in 1990. Although mobile cellular communication accounts for only 2-3 per cent of these emissions, we're feeing enormous growth in mobile subscriber numbers and in the amount that subscribers use their devices. Further analysis shows that, over the 10 to 15-year lifetime of a radio basestation, its major contribution to emissions is from operating energy, rather than, say, manufacture or installation.
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