Broadband services provider WOW! Internet, Cable & Phone on April 22, 2021, Earth Day, announced its continued commitment to supporting the environment through technological and operational improvements that have a direct impact on reducing WOW!'s carbon footprint.
Per the provider's statement:
While the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly slowed greenhouse gas emissions, the cause for concern is nowhere near over. The shift to remote work from the pandemic caused household internet and data usage to skyrocket, imploring broadband providers, including WOW!, to provide the necessary data infrastructure to withstand this demand. But as demand increases, so does the amount of energy consumed in order to service customers - a potential cause for concern given telecom operators already account for two to three percent of total global energy demand.
In response to this challenge, WOW! further stated that it is taking the necessary steps to acknowledge the importance of making green choices to protect the environment and is actively developing new initiatives to make a positive impact while also benefiting customers, including:
- Next generation set top boxes - WOW! is transitioning customers away from older set-top boxes to the smaller, greener, more energy efficient WOW! tv+ box and streaming devices like the Amazon Fire TV Stick.
- Self-install kits - WOW!'s self-install kits have cut down on the number of technicians visiting customer homes and as a result reduced the company's total gas consumption.
- Advances in battery technology - As battery technologies improve, WOW!'s headend facilities and data centers become more energy efficient as well.
- Fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) - Fiber technology consumes much less energy than more traditional cable architecture. WOW!'s network is becoming more sustainable as the company replaces traditional copper cables and deploys more fiber-to-the-home over time.
- Promoting eco-friendly business practices - WOW! consistently encourages employees to think green and act accordingly. The company provides employees with tips and best practices to do so, including things like avoiding unnecessary printing, unplugging less used items to decrease vampire power consumption and using the internet wisely to decrease things like large data storage.
"The COVID-19 pandemic has been a cause of major disruption and pain for our country but it has also allowed us to reinforce our continued commitment to protecting our planet more than ever before," said Teresa Elder, CEO of WOW!. "We believe our efforts will reduce our carbon footprint while also maintaining our commitment to providing excellent service to our customers."
In addition to the technological initiatives, WOW! noted it has also made great strides in reducing its carbon footprint through office consolidations. The company said it consolidated 17 facilities in the past 12 months, an approximate 10 percent reduction. Employees from those facilities now work from home or have been transferred to other facilities.
WOW! has also transitioned much of its workforce to a work-from-home environment, eliminating the need for long commutes and excessive travel. The consolidation efforts have reduced usage of IT equipment and utilities across the company - including decreased water and energy usage - directly reducing WOW!'s carbon footprint.
To learn more, visit www.wowway.com.