Upgrade Inefficient, Energy-Wasting Equipment And Network Designs

Today, new base station architectures using remote radio heads and hybrid remote fiber feeder cables can significantly reduce the total power load of a cell site.

Note: Fifth in a series on Energy Solutions.

It is a hot topic in the wireless industry today—wireless operators around the globe are upgrading their networks to LTE because of the increased demand for mobile internet data. More smartphones and tablets means more data traffic. This increased demand for bandwidth on mobile networks is growing faster than the revenue growth from the subscribers.

Operators are under tremendous pressure to enhance their network infrastructures while reducing costs associated with network operations. In some cases, the cell site energy costs are also increasing as new equipment is added to cope with the data traffic, while the legacy equipment is still used to carry the voice traffic.

Base stations account for most of a wireless network’s energy consumption. Therefore, operators are searching for ways to lower the energy consumption of the base station electronics and its cooling system. Note that lowering the energy consumption of the electronics also helps lower the cooling requirements and associated costs.

Did you know that one of the largest consumers of energy in a cell site is the radio system’s power amplification unit? While power amplification is necessary to overcome RF losses as signals are transmitted to the top of the tower, the associated energy consumption is costly—and avoidable.

Today, new base station architectures using remote radio heads and hybrid remote fiber feeder cables can significantly reduce the total power load of a cell site—as much as 33 percent in deployments implemented by CommScope.

Our research shows that customers who deploy CommScope’s remote radio heads with our high-performance hybrid remote fiber feeder cable can significantly reduce their energy consumption as well as:


  • Reduce cable costs up to 50 percent—compared to typical six-runs of transmission line

  • Reduce cable tower loading by up to 40 percent—helps free up capacity for more antennas

  • Reduce cable installation time by as much as 70 percent—faster and easierinstallation with routing in the enclosure and on the tower

  • Reduce long-term capital and operational expenditures—future-proof your site with built-in potential to expand your network if and when you need it


Are you looking to deploy an energy-efficient base station?