Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry doesn’t yet make headlines as a
green villain — but it’s already tackling the climate challenge, in its own inimitable geeky way. No negotiations here, just research.
As of now, ICT is responsible for about 300 mt of CO2 emissions — that’s about 20% of all cars on US roads. While it’s still a bit player among the cast of global warming industrial villains, it’s also the fastest growing. It’s energy usage is expected to rise, exponentially.
So the legendary Bell Labs, owned by French telecom giant Alcatel-Lucent, has set up an ambitious, global, open research consortium called Green Touch. Its objective – to come up with technology that will completely reinvent current ICT infrastructure, and demonstrate enabling technology that’s cuts down power consumption by a 1000 times, in just 5 years. Existing ICT technology has been invented to optimise performance, and price – not power costs or usage, says Gee Rittenhouse, vice president research Bell Labs.
But how to ensure that the future growth of global information, communications and technology isn’t limited by increasing emissions? Bell’s researchers found that theoretically, it’s possible to reduce energy usage by up to 10,000 – drop wireless, used for mobiles, and that factor rises to 10 million, says Rittenhouse. The physics, he insists, is quite clear. But no such technology now exists, it’s got to be invented.
Bell Labs has brought together, in just 6 weeks, according to Ben Verwaayen, chairman of Alcatel Lucent, a consortium of academics, industry and researchers from across the world to join up a mega-research programme — and is inviting anyone and everyone who wants to join in. The IPR generated will use a shared model, which has yet to be worked out. 15 global companies, universities, and research labs have jumped in on the ground floor, including the likes of AT&T, China Mobile, Swisscom, Telefonica, and Alcatel Lucent. Research and academics from MIT, to universities and research labs from Melbourne, France, Europe, and Asia are involved.
So where are the Indians? It’s the obvious query Rittenhouse has to field. He says the project is just being launched, and he expects more to come on board as it goes on. But of course, no ICT story is complete without an Indian in the background — meet Suresh Goyal, Distinguished Member of Technical Staff, who led the team of scientists at Bell Labs to come up with the startling insight energy consumption in ICT can be reduced by such huge factors.
Source : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/et-cetera/ICT-picks-up-Copenhagen-Call/articleshow/5438933.cms
green villain — but it’s already tackling the climate challenge, in its own inimitable geeky way. No negotiations here, just research.
As of now, ICT is responsible for about 300 mt of CO2 emissions — that’s about 20% of all cars on US roads. While it’s still a bit player among the cast of global warming industrial villains, it’s also the fastest growing. It’s energy usage is expected to rise, exponentially.
So the legendary Bell Labs, owned by French telecom giant Alcatel-Lucent, has set up an ambitious, global, open research consortium called Green Touch. Its objective – to come up with technology that will completely reinvent current ICT infrastructure, and demonstrate enabling technology that’s cuts down power consumption by a 1000 times, in just 5 years. Existing ICT technology has been invented to optimise performance, and price – not power costs or usage, says Gee Rittenhouse, vice president research Bell Labs.
But how to ensure that the future growth of global information, communications and technology isn’t limited by increasing emissions? Bell’s researchers found that theoretically, it’s possible to reduce energy usage by up to 10,000 – drop wireless, used for mobiles, and that factor rises to 10 million, says Rittenhouse. The physics, he insists, is quite clear. But no such technology now exists, it’s got to be invented.
Bell Labs has brought together, in just 6 weeks, according to Ben Verwaayen, chairman of Alcatel Lucent, a consortium of academics, industry and researchers from across the world to join up a mega-research programme — and is inviting anyone and everyone who wants to join in. The IPR generated will use a shared model, which has yet to be worked out. 15 global companies, universities, and research labs have jumped in on the ground floor, including the likes of AT&T, China Mobile, Swisscom, Telefonica, and Alcatel Lucent. Research and academics from MIT, to universities and research labs from Melbourne, France, Europe, and Asia are involved.
So where are the Indians? It’s the obvious query Rittenhouse has to field. He says the project is just being launched, and he expects more to come on board as it goes on. But of course, no ICT story is complete without an Indian in the background — meet Suresh Goyal, Distinguished Member of Technical Staff, who led the team of scientists at Bell Labs to come up with the startling insight energy consumption in ICT can be reduced by such huge factors.
Source : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/et-cetera/ICT-picks-up-Copenhagen-Call/articleshow/5438933.cms
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