Energy optimisation in heterogeneous multi-RAT networks

To be able to serve the traffic demand in today´s mobile networks, more than 123.000 base stations (BSs) have been deployed by the different network providers in Germany. These BSs are working 24/7 and are dimensioned to serve capacity demand during busy hours. Currently no mechanisms for a load adaptive network reconfiguration are implemented. As a result, much energy is wasted during times in which the capacity demand is low. This paper describes an adaptive, context-aware, and technology-comprehensive system architecture for power management in modern radio networks. The results presented are developed within the project Communicate Green (ComGreen). A major goal of ComGreen is the development of a testbed in order to investigate and demonstrate the main achievements of the project. The aim of this paper is twofold: First, it highlights the ComGreen concepts for power management in heterogeneous radio networks. Second, a detailed description of the testbed is provided.