ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

OF A
TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICE

Fulvio Taiariol, Patrizia Fea, and Claudio Papuzza

Telecom Italia Lab S.p.a.
274, Via Reiss Romoli - 10148 Torino (Italy)

Albert0 Ramella
Environmental Engineering - Politecnico di Torho
24, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi - Torino (Italy)

ABSTRACT I INTRODUCTION

The aim of this study is to apply the LCA
methodology to a -TLC service. The automatic
answering and messages storage service for the
fixed network has been chosen as a case study
because of its large utilization. Two different
systems, providing the same service to the users,
have been studied. The environmental impact of
the ‘kentralized answering machine” system and
the “home answering machine” have been
evaluated and compared.
The environmental impacts of the answering
and message storing service are mainly generated
in the production of the apparatus supplying the
service and their use phases.
In the use of LCA methodology application to
this service, several problem, like the functional
unit and the boundary cuts, have to be solved.
TLC system are multi-services provider, the
allocation of the energy, materials and waste to
one specific service have to be properly managed.
The detailed study of components and material
balance was done to perform the LCA. The
inventory data was obtained from: commercial
data base (where available), specialized literature
and data sheet and direct experimental data.
The study allow to quantify the decrease in the
environmental impact for the centralized solution
in ordered of magnitude.
It is also shown that after very few years the
use phase of the service become more important in
the environmental impact than the production
phase.
The Telecom Italia S.p.a. is the most important
telecommunication (TLC) operator in Italy for futed
network. The action for improve their environmental
performances are shown in the “Annual
Environmental Report” [l]. In order to evaluate the
environmental impact of a TLC service in this job the
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology [2]
[3][4] has been applied.
LCA analysis is, in fact, a useful tool to evaluate
the environmental impact of a product or process and
allow to individuate and choose the best
environmental friendly ones.
In order to use LCA methodology for study a
telecommunication service it is important to divide
and reduce the service in elementary part based on the
electronic equipment necessary to provide it [5], and
hence apply LCA to these electronicequipment.
The automatic answering and messages storage
service for fvred network has been chosen as a case
study because of its large utilization. Centralized and
home “answering machine” have been evaluated and
compared from an environmental point of view.
II CENTRALIZED AND HOME ANSWERING
MACHINE SYSTEMS
The main goal of the service is to store phone
messages and allow the users to pIay they later.
In Fig. 1 and in Fig. 2 the home answering
machine system named “ Memovox ” [6] and
centralized answering machine system named ARAM
(Apparato Registrazione Ascolto Messaggi) [7] are
shown respectively. Memovox apparatus are
distributed to the customers by the Telecom Italia

1
0-7803-6655-7/01/$10.00 02001 IEEE 273
S.p.a. while ARAM systems are located in the main
Telephonic Exchange Centers in Italy.
I network.
Fig. 1 - The MEMOVOX home answering machine
apparatus.
equipment.
In the Memovox, messages are recorded in a
Random Access Memory integrated circuit, located
on a printed wire board (PWB).
The ARAM system is formed by several racks
equipped with PWBs and the messages are stored in
Hard Disk units.
The ARAM system studied provide services for
100000 users.
The similarity of the two version of the service,
about 15 messages of 90 seconds recorded, allow
easily to compare quantitatively the environmental
impact of the two systems.
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III LCA METHODOLOGY APPLIED TO
THE SERVICE
All the TLC services, including the automatic
answering and messages storage, use electronic
equipment and infrastructures; the environmental
impacts are mainly related to their manufacturing and
use phases.
LCA methodology require an appropriate
boundary definition of the analyzed system. It is very
important to define properly the allocations of all the
resources involved to supply a particular service.
Both Memovox and ARAM equipment are
integrated in a pre-existing telephone network
system. The Memovox function is implemented in a
standard home telephone equipment by variations in
the electronic circuits. The ARAM system is
implemented as an electronic equipment located in a
Switching Exchange site and linked to the TLC fixed
The systems studied were only the parts of the
equipment strictly related to the service. The
infrastructures related to the vocal telephone service
are excluded.
It is important to observe that the environmental
impact of these type of service is mainly due to the
service availability for the users, and not to the
number of the use of it. In particular the impact is
due to the fact that is possible to storage messages
and not to the number of messages recorded.
The functional unit useful for LCA analysis is:
“The provision of the service to a single user”.
IV INVENTORY
The two main environmental impacts of the
service are generated in the (a) equipment
manufactory and in their (b) use phases.
(a) equipment manufactory
LCA analysis has been performed on the materials
utilized to manufacture the equipment throw the their
mass balance.
The home answering machine, Memovox, is
based on the most diffused telephone equipment in
Italy, Sirio 2000 (Fig. 3), manufactured by Siemens
and Alcatel and distributed by Telecom Italia S.p.a
The choose of Memovox is due to its e large
difhsion, compared with several other commercial
answering machine, and because the service provide
is similar to that of the ARAM.

Fig. 3 SIRIO 2000 telephone equipment
Memovox equipment is used as an answering
machine as well as a standard telephone.
It is difficult to identify properly the electronic
devices supporting the “answering and storing”
h c t i o n in the Memovox to perform the relative
mass balance. This problem has been overcome
calculating the difference in mass balance between
Memovox and Sirio 2000.
To analyzed PWBs in details all the electronic
components have been disassembled completely and
pin, case, packaging etc. were dismounted, separated
and a quali-quantitative analysis was performed.
Data sheets, data base, scientific papers (from [8]
to [151 ) are use to obtain information about material
present in the devices. If data are not available direct
analysis were performed (analytical balance,
metallography, SEM, X-ray microanalysis, IR
spectroscopy...) in order to get data.
For instance data on multi layers ceramic
capacitors S M D (surface mounted devices), present in
the PWB, are obtained from literature information
[8] [12] about their production technology.
The weight of iron and aluminum in the AR4M
racks was evaluated by geometrical consideration on
technical draws [7].
For the electronic part in ARAM P W s has been
weighted and literature data [9] [ l l ] about the
average chemical composition for computer PWBs
was applied.
To obtain the mass balance, copper cables was
dismounting in elementary parts and weighted.
For the hard discs in ARAM no literature data was
found. One of it was completely disassembled and the
X-ray microanalysis was performed.
In Fig. 4 SEM the disc surface photograph of
the hard disc is shown.
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275
In the hard disc magnets a large quantity of
neodymium (Nd) was also found.
Fig. 4 - Magnetic disc cross section
The mass balance data for Memovox, Sirio 2000
and AR4M are compared in Tab. 1.
(b) the use phase of service
The environmental impact in the use phase is
related to the electrical energy consumption necessary
to provide the service.
Direct measurement has been performed on the
equipment during their normally use phase.
In Memovox an external 220 Volts electrical
transformer (Output:9.5 V DC - 300 mA - 2.85 W
Max) supply the energy. In order to guarantee the
service continuity the transformer in always in the on
state and dissipate about 1.92 Watt. This energy
consumption is very large compared to that required
to the electronic circuits, so the energy dissipated in
the transformer is taken as a service phase use energy.
An alkaline 9 V battery is also present to give the
power supply continuity to the RAM memory. (This
battery was also taken into account in the mass
balance).
The continuos power supply energy is also for
ARAh4 system the mainly consumption of electrical
energy necessary to provide the service in the use
phase.
The measured value of this power is 16.85 kWatt
almost completely transformed in heat dissipation.
It is necessary do add an extra energy of 1/3 to
the previous one in order to taken into account the
cooling energy consumption.
Total energy consumption of the centralized
service result in 22.47 kWatt.
I ~~ ~
Tin (Sn) I 5.21 I 2.6 I 479318 I
Iron (Fe) 173.76 4.06 1191700.86
Lead (Pb) 3.3 1.61 5275.16
Nickel (Ni) 0.25 0.05 2977.85
Zinc (Zn) 4.88 0.9 955.37
~~
Aluminum (Al) 11.91 1.61 180706.82
Silver (Ag) 0.22 0.06 1684.182
Gold (Au) 0.02 0.01 143.242
Platinum (Pt) - - 4.86
Chromium (Cr) 0 0 97.218
Palladium (Pd) 0.07 0.01 23.027
Molybdenum (MO) - -
I 4.05

Cadmium (Cd) - - 0.044

Neodymium (Nd) - - 336.15
Silicon (Si) 0.33 0.16 -
Bromine (Br) 0.05 0.01 -
Ferrite (Fe304) 14.86 - -
Epoxy Resin 25.69 11.77 59190.93
Silica (SiOz) 4.17 1.01 -
Glass 10.28 11.64 -
Glass Fibers 43.89 20.06 126988.96
Sulfuric acid (H2S04) 3.28 0.42 -
Potassium hydroxide (KOH) 0.76 - -
Manganese oxide (MnOz) 14.77 - -
Aluminum oxide (A1203) 1.38 2.13 - ~

Antimony oxide (Sb203) 0.1 1 0.03 -

Tetrabrominebisphenol A (TBBPA) 11.19 5.1 1 183
Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) 535.21 428.97 4000
Polyamide (PA) 4.7 - 33576.8
Polybutadiene (PBD) 5.76 0.74 -
Polyethylene (PE)
Polyester (PET)
1.62
7.27
0.13
9.8
30.78
433.35
I
Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) 0.59 11.29 -
Polystyrene (PS) 9.49 - 4723
Polyvinylchloride (PVC) 17.7 - 79091.82
Polyolefin flexible (POF)
Polyphenilene oxide (PPO)
Paper
-
-
2.65
-
-
0.18
20
289
-
I
Silicone 26.5 44.5 -
Carbon 1.37 - -

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276
V DATA ELABORATION in which PA [W] is the electrical power and t [s ] the
lifetime of the equipment, estimated in the range of
In order to compare Memovox and ARAM it is 3 - 5 years.
important to refer data to the same functional unit. The ratio of MemovodARAM energy
Data from ARAM have to be divided by 100000 to consumption related to the electrical power is:
compare with the single user Memovox system. I RE= 25.8
The environmental load due to the materials (in
Mega Joule [MJ1 ) were evaluated using the I
Boustead model [16]. In Tab. 2 the environmental 2.5
load, EM,for Memovox, SIRIO 2000 and ARAM are
T 2
\
reported. For the home answering machine the 2 1.5
difference between Memovox system (telephone plus
S I
answering machine) and S R I 0 2000 (only
telephone) give the irnpact related to answering and 5 0.5
messages storage service. 0

I MEMOVOX ARAM

Fig.6 - Electrical power consumption in the use

phase, referred tofirnctional unit,for the two type G
the answering machine.

The total energy consumption, ET, for Memovox

and ARAM, is:

In Fig. 5 the higher environmental load of the

service provide by Memovox refer to the functional
unit is shown. In witch EM is a constant and EE is function of
time.
The environmental total load ratio RT,between the
two environmental load, ET] for the Memovox and
E n for the ARAM is also a function of the lifetime
for the apparatus as shown in Fig. 7.
The environmental load related to the electricity
used become predominant after only one year of
service.
The ratio RT converge rapidly to %. In fact RT at 3
years is 8.81 and at 5 years is 8.71.
In Tab. 3 are reported the percentage of
MEMOVOX ARAM environmental load related to the material
(production) at different time.
Fig. 5 -Material environmental load referred to
firnctional unitfor the two type of the answering Tab. 3 -Percentage of Environmental load afler 3
machine.

Fig.6 allow to compare the electrical power

consumption, referred to the functional unit, for the
two answering machine in the use phase of the Memovox I 4.54 I 2.77
service. AR4M 1.55 0.94
Boustead Model estimate In Italy 3.11 MJ of
energy are required to supply one MJ of an electrical
energy [16], so the total Energy, EE [MJI, is given by:

5
277
 28
24
20
16
12
0
0 365 730
Days
Fig. 7 Environmental total load ratio of Memovox and ARAMsystem versus the use phase time
VI CONCLUSION
The environmental impact of a [5]PHRAGMEN S. - Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
Telecommunication service was evaluated applying
LCA methodology at the manufactory and use phases
of the infrastructures supporting it. This methodology
can easily applied to different types of TLC services.
As a case study, the home (Memovox) and
centralized (ARAM) answering machine has been
compared referring to a single user.
The environmental impact of the “home” version
is almost 10 time higher than the “centralized” one.
In TLC service the manufactory and the use
phases have to be take into account to evaluate the
total energy consumption.
The electrical energy during the use phase
became the predominant environmental impact after
only a few years of the equipment lifetime.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
We wish to thank C. Cretier of Telecom Italia
S.p.a, L. Gabnelli and V. Bemardini of Telecom
Italia Lab S.p.a. for their assistance in the AR4h4
equipment study and R. Rolfo of of Telecom Italia
Lab S.p.a. for providing Memovox and Sirio 2000
apparatus.
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[ 11 Telecom Italia S.p.a - Environmental Report 2000
Milan,
[2] Life Cycle Assessment UNEP 1996
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278
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[6]ALCATEL - Apparecchio multtfirnzione
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[8]CN ONLINE - What is an Multilayer Ceramic
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