Deutsche Telekom presents a router prototype that uses recycled components from smartphones, which could be a concern for Fairphone.
Why destroy when it can be reused?
Deutsche Telekom is driving sustainability in consumer electronics through an innovative project aimed at reusing components from old smartphones to manufacture routers. The company has designed the prototype of the NeoCircuit Router in collaboration with an industrial consortium, with the intention of achieving a reuse rate of 70%.
This new router integrates processors, memory chips, and physical connectors sourced from discarded mobile devices. According to Dr. Henning Never, who leads the project at Deutsche Telekom, this initiative goes beyond conventional recycling of electronic waste. Bertrand Pascual from Sagemcom adds that reusing smartphone processors for different applications not only helps conserve resources but also makes economic sense.
Deutsche Telekom has set an ambitious goal of achieving almost total circularity in its technology and consumer devices by the year 2030. The widespread adoption of this strategy could reduce production costs by at least 20% compared to manufacturing new components.
The NeoCircuit Router project is part of a broader trend in the industry, promoted by brands like Framework and Fairphone, which advocate for modular designs to improve durability, repairability, and reuse. However, this initiative also faces challenges, as many modern devices utilize glued components and proprietary processors, making extraction and reuse difficult.
The NeoCircuit Router is expected to be presented at the Mobile World Congress 2025 in Barcelona on March 3, highlighting once again the importance of modular and sustainable design initiatives.
