Energy consumption and CO2 emissions by the Indian mobile telecom industry

The Indian mobile telecom industry, one of the fastest growing sectors in India, had 584.3 million subscribers in 2010-2011 registering an annual growth rate of 49.15%. The energy consumed by the sector was 163 PJ and the corresponding CO2 emission was estimated at 32.9 million tons. In this paper, the mobile telecom industry is disaggregated into various segments, based on the lifecycle of the device, and each segment's contribution to the overall energy consumption, and its respective CO2 emissions are discussed. In addition, the paper evaluates four scenarios that examine the impact of energy efficiency on energy savings and the corresponding CO2 emissions relative to the 'business as usual' scenario for 2010-2020. The results of the study provide an imperative to researchers working on next generation infrastructure and energy efficiency to develop new technologies that will reduce the energy consumption and the corresponding CO2 emissions of the growing Indian mobile telecom industry.