Reducing Energy Consumption In A Wireless Network

Energy is a large, multi-faceted line item in every wireless operator’s expense budget. The energy costs for operating a network are huge and the energy consumption has a potentially large and possibly negative impact on the Earth’s natural resources.

Increasing consumer demand for both universal coverage and capacity has led to therapid proliferation of base stations. Operators are now faced with rising costs—the annual energy expenditure for powering on-grid base stations are predicted to grow to $21.9 billion by 2013. Meanwhile, the number of off-grid base stations powered by generators is projected to reach 640,000 this year and expected to consume $14.6 billion worth of fossil fuel. Energy costs weigh heavily on every mobile operator’s bottom line.

Meanwhile, it is estimated that the operation of telecommunications networks is responsible for 0.5 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions worldwide. 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.

A multitude of proven, high-performance technologies exist today that can reduce base station power consumption by as much as 40 percent. Analysys Mason, a leading consulting and research firm, is predicting that retail telecoms revenue will decrease by 5 percent between 2010 and 2015 because of greater competition and saturated markets. The potential reduction in operational expenses that energy efficiency can bring is hard to ignore.

The good news is that there are ways to significantly reduce energy costs—and the potential savings will be noticeable to your CFO. And there are ways to reduce your network’s impact on the environment—and this potential “greening” of your network can be noticeable to the communities in which you do business.

The energy required to fuel bandwidth growth around the world brings inherent challenges:

• Energy demands that are quickly increasing


• Escalating energy costs


• Energy grids that are becoming less reliable


• Consumers and organizations that are demanding lower carbon emissions

In a series of blog posts over the coming weeks, I will cover a variety of methods that can help operators reduce energy consumption at network sites. For example, the next topic I will address will be reducing the power consumption associated with cooling equipment shelters. I’m certain you will find these topics and advice meaningful and actionable, and I and the entire CommScope team are ready to assist.

How Can CommScope Help?

CommScope can help operators identify and implement the right energy-saving and energy-efficient solutions for their networks, so they can achieve their energy conservation goals as well asovercome their network infrastructure challenges. Our solutions also help operators reduce operational and often capital expenses, while reducing the environmental impact.

As a trusted advisor for networks around the world, we help operators see the long-term, global view of energy solutions from every communication network perspective – wireline (broadband), wireless and enterprise. This provides the operators with the insight to invest in the right technology today, which evolves with their network well into the future.

Let CommScope be your trusted advisor. We will help you identify the right solutions that will help you lower your energy costs, provide you with innovative and reliable ways of powering cell sites and lessen your environmental impact.

What energy challenges in your network keep you up at night?