The global growth in access to mobile broadband changes the way people around the world live, learn, work, and collaborate. Nearly three-quarters of internet users are expected to access the internet via smartphones by 2025—the equivalent of nearly 3.7 billion people. The increasing number of mobile broadband users combined with the emergence of data-heavy mobile applications will likely drive exponential growth in mobile data traffic through 2030 and beyond. These developments promise to deliver strong economic development and provide unprecedented opportunities to empower individuals across all socioeconomic classes. However, stakeholders are increasingly concerned with the effect this exponential increase in data traffic will have on the energy consumption and carbon footprint of mobile networks.

Telecommunications (telecom) operators already account for 2%-3% of total global energy demand, making them some of the most energy-intensive companies in their geographic markets. With more than 90% of network cost spent on energy, consisting mostly of fuel and electricity, the demand for energy-saving measures from telecom operators is growing. Telecom operators increasingly deploy distributed renewable energy generation technologies and distributed energy storage systems (DESSs) to reduce the energy consumption and carbon footprint of mobile networks. Such decisions are driven by a low revenue-growth environment, rising global electricity prices, and LTE and 5G upgrades in emerging and developed markets, which are anticipated to more than triple electricity consumption.

This Guidehouse Insights report analyzes the global market for distributed generation (DG) and distributed energy storage (DES) technologies in the telecom industry. The technologies covered include reciprocating generator sets (both diesel and natural gas), fuel cells, solar PV, and battery-based uninterruptable power supply (UPS) systems (incorporating lithium ion, lead-acid, and other advanced batteries). Global market forecasts for capacity and revenue, segmented by technology and region, extend through 2030. The report also examines the key market issues related to DG and DES technologies, including the impact of new network technologies and improved energy efficiency.