Optus and Ericsson unveil Australia’s latest energy efficient radio access network site

Optus, in collaboration with Ericsson, today announced the deployment of Australia’s latest energy-efficient radio access network (RAN) site at Optus’ Moorebank site in Sydney, New South Wales. Ericsson and Optus have created a unique RAN solution leveraging lightweight, new generation radios and basebands which reduce the consumption of energy.

The radios and baseband used can achieve savings up to 25% depending on equipment being used following an upgrade and equipment refresh. Following the initial deployment at the Moorebank site, Optus will now begin upgrading these sites across its network resulting in a decrease in energy consumption that saves up to approximately 40kWh per day when coupled with energy-saving software features.

The new RAN will also assist in a more energy-efficient deployment of Australia’s fastest 5G mobile network^[1], helping Optus overcome challenges related to building more 5G sites to support the ever-growing demand in capacity and speeds from customers in metros and regional Australia.

Lambo Kanagaratnam, Vice President, Networks at Optus said, “The new RAN we’ve deployed in collaboration with Ericsson plays a critical role in not only the sustainable growth of our 4G and 5G network, but also in contributing to our sustainability commitment to reduce our 2025 emissions by 25%. Innovations for energy efficiency remain imperative even while we progress towards our commitment of having 100% of our electricity requirements backed by renewable energy sources by the end of 2025.

"We are also working with Ericsson to improve their embedded emissions of equipment production and supply, which will be important to our Net Zero ambitions which includes emissions in our supply chain.

“Optus is committed to not only being Australia’s most loved everyday brand with lasting customer connections but delivering our services in a more energy-efficient way. Through innovation like this, Optus seeks to improve customer experience and reduce our environmental footprint.”

Martin Wiktorin Head of Ericsson Global Customer Unit, Singtel, said: “At Ericsson, sustainability is integral to our business and has become a fundamental part of how we operate and innovate. This new RAN deployment represents an important step toward our mission to be Net Zero across our value chain by 2040 and cut emissions by 50% in our portfolio in use and supply chain by 2030. We are proud to have collaborated with Optus in creating a RAN solution that will continue to support the development of Australia’s sustainable future.”

In 2022, Optus announced that it would reduce 25% of its operational emissions by 2025 to help Australia and the rest of the world achieve the goal of no more than 1.5 °C of global warming by 2050. It also committed to 100% of electricity requirements being backed by renewable energy sources by 2025. This new RAN will play a critical role in Optus achieving those goals.

[1] As awarded by Opensignal (Opensignal Awards - Australia: Mobile Network Experience Report October 2022).