Green Wireless Internet Technology

Abstract

IET Editorial: In the future communications will be pervasive in nature, allowing users access at the “touch of button” to attain any service, at any time, on any device. The future device design process requires both a reconfigurable RF front end and back end with high tuning speed, energy efficiency, excellent linearity and intelligence to maximise the “greenness” of the network. But energy efficiency and excellent linearity are the main topics that are driving the designs of future transceivers, including their efforts to minimise network contributions to climate changes such as the effect of CO2 emissions: the minimisation of these is a requirement for information and communication technology (ICT) as much as for other technologies. Recently, information and communication technologies were shown to account for 3% of global power consumption and 2% of global CO2 emissions, and hence far from insignificant. The approach towards energy conservation and CO2 reduction in future communications will require a gret deal of effort which should be targeted both at the design of energy efficient, low-complexity physical, MAC and network layers, while maintaining the required Quality of Service (QoS). There is also a need, in infrastructures, networks and user terminals, to take a more holistic approach to improving or achieving green communications, from radio operation, through functionality, up to implementation. The increasing demand for data and voice services is not the only cause for concern since energy management and conservation are now at the forefront of the political agenda. The vision of Europe 2020 is to become a smart, sustainable and inclusive economy, and as part of these priorities the EU have set forth the 20:20:20 targets, whereby greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption should be reduced by 20% while energy from renewables should be increased by 20%.