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6E - Life-Cycle Management (MO2/2) Life cycle assessment of the mobile communication system UMTS. Faist Emmenegger, Mireille1, Frischknecht, Rolf1, Stutz, Markus2, Guggisberg, Michael3, Witschi, Res3, Otto, Tim4, 1 ESU-services, Uster, Switzerland2 Motorola GmbH, Motorola Advanced Technology Center - Europe, Wiesbaden, Germany3 Swisscom, Bern, Switzerland4 Deutsche Telekom, Oldenburg, Germany ABSTRACT- Telecommunication providers and telecommunication manufacturers are getting ready to implement the third generation (3G) mobile telecommunication system known as UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunication System) in Europe. Next to the technical problems involved, no statement regarding the sustainability of the UMTS can yet be made. In a joint effort Motorola, Swisscom, Deutsche Telekom together with ESU-services have carried out an evaluation of the environmental sustainability of the UMTS mobile communication system in Switzerland by means of a Systems Life Cycle Assessment (SLCA). A baseline environmental impact profile across the full life cycle of the UMTS mobile communication system and its predecessor, the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication) is presented. An important methodological aspect of this study is the choice of the functional unit. The influence of this choice on the results is illustrated with three different functional units (1 year operation of the telecommunication system, 1 min. of use, 1 GB data transfer). The analyses showed that the manufacturing of electronic components (precious metals extraction and refining, energy use), the life time of the appliances and energy consumption are key parameters influencing the environmental profile most. Different actors of the telecommunication industry of different stages of the life cycle of the system are collaborating in this study: a manufacturer as well as network providers. This paper quantifies the different strategies they develop for the life cycle management in the telecommunication system as e.g. Design for Environment for products (e.g. cellular phone and base stations) and LCA improvement assessments (e.g. combined devices). Key words: UMTS mobile phone, telecommunication system, life cycle assessment |
