Widespread expectations that 5G will be a green technology needed for decarbonisation and cutting down emissions are not currently backed by strong and fully transparent evidence, a new study by the University of Sussex suggests.conducted by Sussex’s Centre for Research into Energy Demand Solutions said existing studies into the energy use of 5G have not considered the flipside of what it takes to produce and maintain the network.
They added that this would counteract the energy-saving potential of the technology, as emissions would be replaced with more demand than current data services. Further details of the newly-published study show that large-scale infrastructure is in constant need of updating, to deal with the pace of changes in the technology sector.In the same vein, the researchers called on manufacturers to make users more aware of the environmental implications of their actions when they use their phones.