Another Oil Crisis Pushes Telcos to Renewable Energy

As America's latest Middle East war spikes oil prices, telcos like Turkcell, Tele2 and DT benefit from earlier investments in renewables; laggards like Charter, MTN Group, and STC face added costs and more risk.

This report examines how the energy crisis triggered by the invasion of Iran impacts telecom operators. It identifies the telcos most vulnerable due to heavy fossil fuel reliance and highlights those best prepared to navigate market volatility through advanced renewable commitments.

In late 2025, MTN Consulting reported that renewables accounted for 23% of global telco energy consumption in 2024. While this is up from 10% in 2019, the industry requires a significantly deeper commitment to reach carbon neutrality. To achieve that 23% industry-wide ratio, though, quite a lot of telcos had made big investments in renewable energy. The top 10 by renewable adoption were all in Europe (including Turkey): Turkcell, Tele2, Telia, DT, KPN, Swisscom, A1 Telkom Austria, Telefonica, Telecom Italia, Liberty Global. These leaders made energy decisions with the long term in mind: both out of a concern for climate change and sustainability, and for energy independence. Now they will benefit from this foresight, even as some of their rivals face wild price swings in key energy inputs.

Our study also identifies "laggards," or telcos with high exposure to carbon-based price volatility (primarily diesel). We define laggards as telcos where electricity makes up less than 90% of total energy use - leaving a relatively high share for diesel and other direct energy sources - and renewables account for less than 10%. This group includes Charter Communications, Comcast, Etisalat, Grupo Televisa, Lumen Technologies, Millicom, MTN Group, Ooredoo, PLDT, Rostelecom, STC, Turk Telekom, Veon, and Zain. These operators must proactively revamp their green energy strategies to mitigate financial risk. Vendors can benefit from their transitions.

Organizations mentioned:

• A1 Telekom Austria
• Charter Communications
• Comcast
• Deutsche Telekom
• Etisalat
• Grupo Televisa
• KPN
• Liberty Global
• Lumen Technologies
• Millicom
• MTN Group
• Ooredoo
• PLDT
• Quebecor Telecommunications
• Rostelecom
• STC (Saudi Telecom)
• Swisscom
• Tele2 AB
• Telecom Italia
• Telefonica
• Telenor
• Telia
• Turk Telekom
• Turkcell
• Veon
• Vodafone
• Windstream
• Zain