- Deutsche Telekoms Neocircuit Router pushes for for sustainability in consumer electronics
- The project seems to make old smartphones for routers
- Neocircuit router aims at 70% recycling
Deutsche Telecom is investigating a new way of reducing electronic waste by recycling components from old smartphones to build routers.
Reports from Hardwareluxx (originally in German) claim Deutsche Telekom developed the Neocircuit Router, a prototype device consisting primarily of recycled parts, in collaboration with an industrial consortium.
Neocircuit -Router Prototype integrates processors, memory chips and physical connectors from old smartphones for the purpose of a circularity of about 70%.
To transform old smartphones into routers
Dr. Henning Never, project manager at Deutsche Telekom, believes that Neocircuit goes beyond typical recycling of e-waste, while Bertrand Pascual from Sagemcom believes that the recycling of smartphone processors for other applications not only retains resources but also makes financial sense.
Deutsche Telekom has set an ambitious goal of reaching almost complete circularity for its technologies and consumer units by 2030. If adopted widely, this approach could reduce production costs by at least 20% compared to the production of new components.
This is not the only initiative that is in line with a broader industrial effort from brands such as Frame and Fairphone that promote modular design to improve life, repair ability and recycling.
The project faces challenges as many modern devices use glued components and proprietary processors, making extraction and recycling difficult. Nevertheless, the Neocircuit router is set to be revealed on the Mobile World Congress 2025 in Barcelona on March 3rd.
Modular design initiatives are nothing new, but it’s always nice to see more of them. In the event that you missed it, I have reported on Framework’s Laptop 16 message, while Fairphone and nothing offers sustainable, modular alternatives to the best business assemblies alternatives.
