Problematizing the sustainability of 5G/6G networks and devising alternative ways forward

Mobile communications networks are increasingly advocated as enablers for environmental sustainability (“5G/6G for sustainability”) due to their potential induced effects towards green transitions. Despite this potential, their impact on sustainability is also acknowledged, and there are substantial research efforts to make these networks more sustainable by reducing their direct effects (“sustainable 5G/6G”). The sustainability of these networks is then seen as a trade-off between induced benefits and direct effects. However, we argue that there is an urgent need to critically problematize these two interrelated and entrenched visions around the intersection of sustainability and mobile networks. The former (“5G/6G for sustainability”) relies on highly speculative forecasts of the potential of mobile networks to be a critical enabler of the green transitions and takes limited account of negative induced effects, while the latter (“sustainable 5G/6G”) focuses on energy efficiency metrics, obscuring potential increasing absolute energy demand and other environmental dimensions. In this article, we call for more responsible mobile network development and a deeper analysis of its potential effects on sustainable transitions.