A Case Study: Sustainability in the Context of 6th Generation Mobile Communication Systems
摘要
This Chapter addresses the topic of sustainability in the context of wireless communication networks, more specifically, the case of next-generation mobile systems (6G). Advocating a sustainable by design approach, we present the challenges of sustainability from the well-established perspective of three pillars: environmental, social, and economic sustainability. All three pillars have a fundamental role, spanning ecological effects, operational costs, business opportunities, and the controversial topic of social acceptance of new technologies. Also, 6G comes with two facets: 6G as part of the problem, thus calling for actions to design a Sustainable 6G, and 6G as part of the solution (or, sustainability enabler), which typically referred to as 6G for Sustainability or 6G for Sustainable Applications. We introduce all these topics from a value-oriented perspective beyond performance, to then present the main technological advancement that will drive this evolution across the different network segments. With a final glimpse at standardization aspects, we aim to give insights into whether and how sustainability considerations can be brought into regulation.