Building Green Telecom Networks & Sustainable Operations: Can We Achieve Both?

Communication service providers (CSPs) inherently consume substantial amounts of energy, estimated to be around 2-3% of global consumption, which results in two significant challenges: increased energy costs and environmental consequences. The situation gets even more complicated as CSPs face immense pressure to build infrastructure supporting high-speed 5G communications and the anticipated upsurge in mobile traffic data. All this has put tremendous emphasis on telcos to find environmental and sustainability-friendly initiatives to help reduce carbon emissions and energy use.

One widely discussed and explored solution is building green telecom networks (GTN) that allow efficient monitoring and management of energy consumption. However, implementing green 5G networks will require a multi-pronged approach consisting of developing smart network designs, using renewable energy and energy-efficient technology, and deploying environmentally sustainable consumables.

In this article, we will explore a few themes picking up pace in this area, but before that, let’s understand why CSPs need to take their energy efficiency goals seriously

Why Telcos Need Energy Efficiency Goals?

The lack of concrete sustainability initiatives has meant that the telcos are grappling with two main issues – significant carbon emissions harming the environment and high expenditure on energy consumption leading to reduced business output.

The Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI) reported that the telecom industry is responsible for 1.6% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. Currently, energy expenses make up roughly 20-40% of the operational expenditures for telecom companies.

With the adoption of 5G in the coming year, the demand for connectivity will increase tremendously, as will all the additional problems. However, answering this demand doesn’t have to come at the expense of the environment. CSPs can do that by embracing innovative technologies and energy-efficient practices.

AI and energy management  

Within mobile networks, Radio Access Network (RAN) is the biggest consumer of energy, which can be as high as 80% depending on factors like technology and geographical location.

As a result, mobile network operators (MNOs) are highly motivated to seek energy-efficient strategies that can mitigate their environmental footprint and energy expenses.

Although renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power are available, an effective approach to cost reduction heavily relies on implementing RAN automation driven by energy savings. Telcos are leveraging AI technology to find new ways to efficiently manage RAN power consumption without compromising service continuity and user experience.

Telcos need to optimize the power-saving functionalities already present in the network equipment vendors provide, allowing selective deactivation of specific radio components during periods of low activity, such as at night. However, many operators rarely utilize these features, fearing that it may impact network quality and customer experience.

At Amdocs, our network optimization’s data analytics capabilities enable this approach by creating extended timeframes for activating power-saving modes and effectively detecting and addressing quality impacts. This approach allows telcos to achieve over 10% energy savings.

5G and Energy Consumption

The energy consumption of RAN in the 5G networks will be greater from now on as they will run on higher frequency bands. However, the advantage of 5G networks lies in their intelligence. Introducing a software-defined RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) can help tackle this.

Telcos are increasingly looking to deploy rApps (RIC applications), which are software applications that operate on top of the RIC and offer added functionalities and intelligence to a network.

For example, by installing an energy-saving rApp, operators can monitor the power consumption of their network equipment and identify opportunities to reduce energy usage and automate the process of turning off or scaling down network equipment during periods of low traffic.

At Amdocs, our Open RAN solution tackles the energy challenges of 5G via integration (e.g., validating vendor combinations), deployment (e.g., network planning and design), and SMO (Service Management and Orchestration).

Conclusion

Despite the benefits of green telecom networks, the industry faces several challenges in implementing sustainable practices, such as high capital costs and the lack of standardization in sustainable practices. There is also the question of how CSPs can build energy-efficient network operations without compromising reliable network delivery.

However, CSPs need to realize that sustainability is not just an option that can stay on paper. It’s a serious goal that they must achieve. By embracing innovative technologies and energy-efficient practices, CSPs can meet the growing demand for connectivity while minimizing their environmental impact.

Building green networking using AI and RAN optimization and incorporating other cutting-edge techniques will save money, boost customer happiness, and have a less negative influence on global warming.

(The author is Samit Banerjee, Division President, Cloud Operations Services & Head of Customer Service Unit, Amdocs., and the views expressed in this article are his own)