Creating a Circular Economy for Network Equipment

Each year, up to one million base stations globally are retired. Most of the equipment is lost to waste – not because they’re broken, but because operators lack the data to reuse it safely.

Across the industry, operators decommission or modernise hundreds of thousands of base station sites every year. Yet, most of the equipment is discarded, rather than redeployed, even though it has technical potential. That’s because many mobile operators lack trusted systems for checking compatibility, enabling traceability, and measuring carbon impact.

A more systematic approach could unlock enormous benefits. A Telia-Accenture study estimated that embedding circularity in telecom operations could generate US$20–30 billion in value through infrastructure resale, waste reduction, and smarter installations.

To help realise this opportunity, NetLife™ and Safaricom, Kenya’s leading operator, are working together to demonstrate how GRiD, a universal equipment identifier, can enable large-scale reuse and refurbishment of telecom network assets. The pilot tested the use of GRiD to match parts for equivalence, circular compatibility, and emissions modelling.

So far, the pilot with Safaricom has demonstrated how GRiD can transform spare parts management, according to NetLife, which says the use of GRID grouping means 62% fewer SKUs (stock keeping units) are needed. Furthermore, reusing GRiD-matched equivalents resulted in cost savings of 55%, while the use of GRID can reduce CO2 emissions by 60%.

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