Telecoms companies can make significant environmental and cost savings by reusing and recycling old equipment, according to Andy Martin, key account director at TXO. He said those savings that can be achieved by doing so are up to 80 or even 90 per cent versus using new kit.
But the biggest challenge for companies such as TXO, said Martin, is convincing telecoms operators to take the leap of faith and use them rather than the original manufacturer. Rather than only coming to TXO on an ad hoc basis when they need a one-off spare part,
Martin said that they need to understand the benefit of entering into a longer term contract for all of their equipment servicing needs. Yet, often it takes a pilot or trial of its services to convince them, he said.
“It’s all about changing the mindset,” said Martin. “Often operators are more than willing to give you their equipment to resell or recycle, but when you ask them if they want to buy refurbished equipment they’re a bit unsure about it.“In many cases, though, the equipment they are getting may be similar stock of as good, if not better quality. Indeed, it may be a piece of unused stock that has been sat in a warehouse for a couple of years that costs less than if you were to buy it brand new.
“The key advantages that it delivers for the customer are the environmental benefits of reusing or recycling equipment. It also provides significant cost savings by reusing existing equipment and not having to buying new equipment.”
In some instances, Martin said that companies may have no choice but to buy refurbished equipment as the manufacturer doesn’t produce it any more. By contracting with TXO, however, he said that they can both source that part, but also get their current equipment repaired when needed, thus prolonging its lifecycle.
Another significant hurdle for TXO and other providers, said Martin, is getting manufacturers onside, many who view them as direct competition. Often times, however, he said that the contrary is true and, actually, manufacturers are their consumers.
From a customer perspective, many companies tend to lose the value of their physical assets the longer they sit on them, as in the case of 3G equipment, said Martin. That makes the role of TXO even more vital, he said, helping to advise clients of key supply and demand trends in the market.
"Part of our job is to help customers who we are selling equipment on their behalf of to capitalise on the opportunities that may come their way,” said Martin. “It’s being able to ride these waves as and when they come that makes the difference for them.”
Power consumption
Power consumption is another key issue, said Martin. Given that much of the existing equipment out there is often decades old and uses a large amount of power, coupled with high energy supply prices, he said, in many cases, it makes sense to decommission it.
“By reselling or recycling that equipment, companies can not only make a cost saving on their power consumption, but also monetise it,” said Martin. “They can also reduce the physical footprint within their buildings and, thus, also cut their rental costs, or, if they own the building, rent out that space.”
A case in point is BT Group’s Exchange Clearance Operation programme, which is supported by TXO. Under the scheme, TXO reuses, resells and recycles legacy equipment from telephone exchanges across the UK.
“BT currently has around 5,000 exchanges and wants to reduce that number by about 4,000 in the next 15 to 20 years,” said Martin. “So that’s going to be a big bulk of our work in helping them to achieve that.”
Martin said that TXO’s focus is first and foremost on reselling equipment. But if it can’t do that, he said it looks to recycle it.
“There are times when we might decommission a piece of equipment that’s 15 years old, for example, and there are operators out there who have been looking for that part,” said Martin. “By releasing the equipment as quickly as possible, it’s a win: win for both parties.
“Other times, it may be the case that because some organisations are so large, they don’t necessarily have oversight of all their assets. It could be the case that one department is looking to get rid of equipment while another one wants to buy the same thing, but they may be unaware of each other, so it’s a matter of facilitating the conversation between the two.”
TXO itself has been on the acquisition trail over the last year, assimilating MMX, Lynx and Teqport into its business. Martin said that all of the companies have bedded in well so far, with TXO being able to extend its service offering to existing customers as a result.
“Now we can offer that true end-to-end wraparound service for decommissioning, room clearances and building closures,” said Martin. “That’s a huge benefit for companies wanting to make significant cost savings while cutting their carbon emissions.”