The benefits of a circular economy and its necessity are undeniable. More than ever, the planet and its people need to reduce resource use and move to more sustainable business models. This also applies to the telecommunications industry and its network equipment. Rapid technological changes and accompanying customer behaviours shorten lifecycles, resulting in greater production and increasing waste.

This strategy paper analyses how the network equipment used within the telecommunications ecosystem can evolve towards a circular business model. This will involve cooperation with stakeholders throughout the value chain, beginning with changing perceptions of what is ‘waste’.

The aim of the shift towards greater circularity is to reduce environmental impacts while realising social and economic benefits at the same time.