Color Communication Green (review of "Green Radio Communication Networks" (Hossain, E., Eds, et al; 2012) [Book/Software Reviews]

This book begins with a very high level overview of the tradeoffs between things like spectral efficiency, energy efficiency, bandwidth, and power. The book ends with a chapter describing some projects such as Energy Aware Radio and neTwork tecHnologies (EARTH); test beds; and consortiums. In between there are chapters on energy harvesting, energy consumption models, comparing coding for efficiency, and modulation methods. As with any book involving networks at a high level, there are lots of acronyms. The claim is made that the energy consumed by our wireless network can easily be reduced by two thirds. The case is also made that some form of energy harvesting such as solar or wind powered microturbines has promise and would add to the overall efficiency. Many of the chapters focus on media access control, cooperative efficiency, multiple nodes and hop networks, and metrics for measuring efficiency while considering the quality of service. This book contains contributions from almost 60 scientists and engineers in academia and industry. Green Radio Communication Networks is an excellent snapshot of the state of green in wireless networking, and it is a nice overview of who is doing what and where in the field.