INFOGRAPHIC
Despite mounting challenges, telcos remain cautious about large-scale decommissioning with three-quarters of respondents saying they have delayed phasing out older networks. 53 % of respondents say that they have delayed decommissioning due to labour shortages.
Encouragingly, many operators are embracing circular economy initiatives as a solution. 85 % have plans to resell copper infrastructure as part of a circular economy strategy, with 80 % having similar plans for 2G and 3G equipment. Earlier research from TXO also revealed that 80 % of operators are recycling old equipment, and 63 % purchase refurbished components to support ongoing operations.
The combination of escalating costs, downtime, and energy inefficiency makes the case for decommissioning legacy network technology stronger than ever.
The research, conducted by Censuswide in December, surveyed 231 network decision-makers at telecom operator businesses, MNO, ISP, Fixed-Line based in the UK, USA and Canada. Founded in 2005, TXO is the global full-circle technology lifecycle partner, helping industries manage, deploy, and resell technology. p
Decommissioning legacy networks is a complex challenge for telcos, often constrained by labour shortages and operational risks. With the right expertise and infrastructure, operators can recover value from retired equipment while accelerating their sustainability goals.
By reselling, recycling, and reusing network assets, the industry is taking a crucial step toward a more circular economy – one that reduces waste, lowers costs, and builds a greener, more resilient technology sector.
With 98 % of network decision-makers reporting that maintaining ageing infrastructure has increased overall operational costs, the financial burden of managing legacy infrastructure is a growing concern. Operational resilience is also at risk. The study found that major outages caused by legacy networks, resulting in downtime, cost businesses an average of £ 1,073,684 per year.
Outages on legacy infrastructure are more frequent and disruptive than ever. Older networks were not built to handle today’ s demands, making them prone to failure, and for many large service providers, the maintenance costs will have surged by 30 – 40 % over the past year alone.
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