Energy and Climate

Fiber internet service providers and manufacturers across the US have been building their strategies toward sustainability since as early as 2015. The evolution from hardware-based to software-based networks began in the early 2000s. That was a step toward energy efficiency, lower carbon emissions, a smaller eco-footprint, and the use of more environmentally friendly materials. As the technology evolved, so did environmental, social, and governance (ESG) strategies. However, one type of network infrastructure has always been sustainable: fiber optics. And it’s not just about clean energy.

Housed at the Michelson 20MM Foundation, the Digital Equity Pooled Fund is a new collaboration between 20MM, the Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF), and California Community Foundation (CCF) that is focused on advancing digital equity in California.

Shannon Thomas Carroll, head of global environmental sustainability for AT&T, knows how difficult it is to find reliable climate data. When sustainability officials at the telecommunications giant began searching for local-level data on climate impacts as part of the company’s efforts to shore up its infrastructure in response to climate change, they had a lot of trouble finding usable information.

It's true that extreme weather conditions like torrential rain, wintry conditions and even heavy cloud coverage can interfere with your internet service, depending on the type of internet connection you have.

On November 1, President Biden joined world leaders at the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties, or COP26, in Glasgow, Scotland. Broadband also is a “green strategy” that can help lessen impacts on the environment and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and is a key linchpin, as is housing, for a triple bottom-line strategy to promote sustainability: prosperous economy, quality environment, and community equity.

Being digitally connected is such a central feature of our lives that we don’t often stop to think about how it actually works. Transient data, a combination of ones and zeros, pass through a surprisingly tangible physical infrastructure of fiber optic cables connecting centralized data servers — infrastructure that is vulnerable to an increasingly erratic and punishing climate. The reality of digital disconnection was brought into sharper focus during the COVID-19 pandemic; fundamental aspects of our daily lives shifted online instantly, from schooling to remote work to health care.

AT&T announced it is investing tens of millions of dollars to further harden its network in Louisiana against the impact of hurricanes and tropical storms by burying fiber-optic infrastructure previously deployed on poles across some of the hardest-hit areas during Hurricane Ida.

AT&T is preparing to upgrade customers in three Louisiana towns to GPON fiber after Hurricane Ida wreaked havoc on its copper assets. In a filing with the Federal Communications Commission, AT&T said Hurricane Ida “significantly damaged” its copper cables and terminals in Baton Rouge, Denham Springs and Zachary (LA) when it made landfall in late August 2021.

Nokia is throwing its weight behind an initiative it calls Broadband Zero, aiming to help connect as many people as possible with a minimal impact on the environment. Sandy Motley, President of Fixed Networks at Nokia, said the company’s Broadband Zero campaign is based on four key pillars: zero left behind, zero limits, zero touch and zero waste. She explained the first pillar is focused on applying fiber and fixed wireless access (FWA) technologies to connect every home and building as quickly as possible.