Gudrun Gudmundsdottir is a PhD researcher at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). Her research currently spans the environmental assessment of fixed and mobile telecommunication networks in Scandinavia with a focus on Absolute Environmental Sustainability. Before which she has created an autonomous carbon calculator for customer premise equipment and data centers focusing on sharing emissions with customers of telecom services. Her experience working in the ICT industry influences her view which is focused on scientifically valid and applicable solutions.
High-speed connectivity has become a central part of human civilisation in many parts of the world. In 2025, it is estimated that 5.5 billion people are connected to the internet, meaning that 1/3 of the human population is yet unconnected and the individual usage is expanding year-over-year. Additionally, the services provided have been heralded as one part of the solution toward a more sustainable future, making the understanding of the environmental impact of the telecommunication services increasingly valuable. The study investigates the life cycle emissions from a fixed optical telecommunication network in Sweden using data obtained via a partnership with a network operator in Sweden and emission factors data derived from industry. The life cycle assessment covers five environmental impact categories among which resource usage is found to have the highest scores when compared to society’s background loads. The network infrastructure cannot be considered environmentally sustainable in absolute terms due to three impact categories. Lastly, equations are presented for how network operators can allocate emissions to their services and customers.