Recent price increases have pushed energy costs more than 50% higher than sales growth for many large operators. Some estimates suggest energy costs represent 15 to 40% of telecommunications operating expenses, depending on network scale and regional energy pricing. As networks expand, technologies evolve and energy prices fluctuate, telecom operators are finding that utility invoices have become far more. Data centers get a lot of flak for their energy usage – and rightfully so – but telecom operators also account for a substantial portion of global energy consumption. 6 Terawatt hours (TWh) of energy in 2024, up from 330.