New Qualcomm Report Calls for Accelerated Efforts to Use 5G to Enable a More Sustainable Future

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A new Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. report, “Environmental sustainability and a greener economy: The transformative role of 5G” highlights the many ways 5G technology can achieve critically needed sustainability benefits and calls for joint efforts by industry and government to accelerate 5G adoption.

The report finds that 5G can transform and positively impact industries across the globe by creating new products and processes that support environmental sustainability.  Importantly, the report shows how 5G enabled sustainability is an economic opportunity with major potential for increased revenues, profit margins and productivity – as well as a range of other business benefits.

With 5G, industries and organization can increase their overall sustainability and competitive advantage by significantly improving greenhouse gas emissions, water usage, pesticide usage, and energy consumption.  

The report calls for accelerated deployment of 5G networks and 5G uses cases, as well as enhanced investments in 5G technology leadership and a robust global semiconductor ecosystem, to ensure these urgent sustainability advantages are realized sooner.

Key findings from the report shows the rollout of 5G in the U.S. alone is expected to:

• Create as many as 300,000 new green jobs by 2030. The roles of data scientist, data engineering and software engineering will gain traction as companies rely more and more on 5G.
• Enable the reduction of 374 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, which is equivalent to taking 81 million passenger vehicles off U.S. roads for one year.
• Save 410 billion gallons of water nationwide, the equivalent of water usage in 4+ million homes, by offering increased insight into usage patterns and leakage issues.
• Reduce pesticide usage in the United States by 50% with unmanned aerial vehicles for remote sensing and spray application.
• Increase fuel efficiency by 20% through optimized lane management systems and traffic management systems enabled by C-V2X.

“Environmental sustainability is absolutely imperative and we are working actively with our partners across many industries to leverage 5G to reduce carbon footprints and conserve resources,” said Cristiano Amon, President and Chief Executive Officer of Qualcomm Incorporated. “Governments and industry can do much more to unleash the sustainability benefits of 5G by accelerating the deployment of 5G networks and use cases, investing in 5G technology and ensuring a robust global semiconductor ecosystem. As a 5G technology leader, Qualcomm aims to play an even larger role in the digital and green transformation of industries to provide 5G-enabled sustainability benefits to societies and economies around the world.”