Carbon footprint of the Internet

Abstract

A network-based model of the carbon footprint of the Internet is presented and used to determine the carbon abatement provided by Internet-based telecommuting and teleconferencing services to replace car and air travel. The model includes DSL, FTTN and PON access technologies, edge and core network architectures and is based upon currently commercially available equipment. We show that carbon emissions of the Internet need to be taken into consideration in order to obtain an accurate estimate of carbon abatement provided by the Internet.