Energy conservation solutions for mobile networks

The explosive growth of mobile applications requires more bandwidth, which, in turn, requires more energy as well as additional investments in network infrastructure- money that service providers must find ways to recover. The energy required to fuel this bandwidth growth brings its own inherent challenges: energy demands that are growing quickly, energy costs that are escalating, energy grids that are becoming less reliable, and a growing focus on environmental concerns. These challenges could all add up to energy and financial crisis. With an estimated 6 billion plus mobile connections globally, increasing consumer demand for both universal coverage and capacity has led to the rapid proliferation of base stations. According to the GSM Association [1], the total global and diesel energy consumption of all mobile networks was approximately 120 terawatt hours in 2010, resulting in energy costs of $13 billion and responsible for 70 Mt CO₂e. However, a multitude of proven, high performance technologies exist today that can reduce base station power consumption by as much as 40 percent. Many operators are now focusing their efforts on reducing energy consumption in their networks. With the wireless industry´s heightened awareness of their networks´ environmental impact, operators are seeking ways to rapidly reduce their carbon footprint and contribute to a cleaner environment by reducing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that are being blamed as one of the potential causes of global climate change. This is why many operators have set goals to reduce their energy consumption by approximately 25 percent within the next 10 years. Wireless operators wanting to take advantage of the newest advancements in green technology must sometimes wait until their next-generation network deployment is scheduled. In the case of new low-power infrastructure, these advancements limit a carrier´s deployment of alternative power to only a few sites where the financial- and logistical circumstances merit. So what are operators to do with the millions of cell sites deployed that consume electricity and emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere either directly or indirectly? This paper will help identify and layout the implementation of the top 10 energy-saving and emissions reducing solutions for mobile broadband networks, helping operators achieve their energy conservation goals and overcome network infrastructure challenges.