How Are Telco Operators Saving Energy with Network Optimization?

What are the current concerns for Telecommunications Networks?

Telco operators rank among the world's largest energy consumers, and energy efficiency has emerged as a strategic imperative in the industry. Globally, the telco sector accounts for a substantial 2-3% of total energy consumption, making it a significant contributor to energy-related challenges. Compounding the issue, energy expenses currently comprise 15-40% of operators' Operational Expenditures (OPEX), with forecasts predicting further increases in the years to come.

Figure 1. A GSMA Intelligence survey about the importance of sustainability and energy efficiency to their network transformation strategy.

The telecommunications industry stands at a crossroads. On the one hand, it faces surging demand for data, driven by the proliferation of smartphones, IoT devices, and digital services. On the other hand, there's the pressing need to curb energy consumption and reduce environmental impact.

Several key problems are associated with the high energy consumption of telecommunications networks:

• Maintaining Performance and Reliability: Telco operators cannot simply reduce energy consumption without jeopardizing performance or reliability. To meet the surging demand for mobile data and ensure uninterrupted service, telco networks must remain robust and resilient.

• Rising Energy Costs: Global increases in electricity prices exert significant pressure on telco operators' financial health. Regions with already elevated energy costs, such as Europe and Asia, face particular challenges.

• Complexity of Network Optimization: Network optimization is a complex interrelated set of processes that requires a high level of expertise which can impact other network processes. This talent can be difficult to find and retain, especially for small operators.

• Environmental Impact: The telecommunications industry faces mounting pressure to curb its environmental footprint. High energy consumption contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and other ecological concerns.

•  Regulatory Requirements: Some governments are imposing regulations on telco operators to reduce their energy consumption. For example, the European Union have set an ambitious energy efficiency target of reducing final energy consumption by at least 11.7% compared to projections of the expected energy use for 2030.

In addition to these general concerns, there are a number of specific issues that telco operators are facing with regards to energy consumption:

• Rapid Growth in Mobile Data Demand: The demand for mobile data is growing rapidly, which is putting a strain on telco networks. This increased demand is leading to higher energy consumption, as telco operators need to use more power to operate their networks. Predictions indicate that, by 2027, all mobile data traffic growth will come from 5G, as 4G traffic declines. Furthermore, by 2028, 5G's share of mobile data traffic is forecast to grow to 66%.

• Aging Network Infrastructure: Much of the telecommunications network infrastructure is aging and less energy-efficient than modern equipment. This inefficiency translates into higher energy consumption.

Essential strategies for enhancing your network performance

The foremost area for potential improvements resides within the networks themselves. Network energy consumption engulfs a significant portion of a mobile operator's OPEX, with Radio Access Network (RAN) accounting for a staggering 70-90% of this energy usage. Cellular networks were originally designed to optimize connectivity, with energy conservation taking a backseat. Consequently, this presents plenty of opportunity to go back in and make improvements.

Network optimization

Network optimization is the process of adjusting and configuring network settings to improve performance and efficiency. Strategies include: 

• Adjusting Base Station Power Output: Telco operators can automatically adjust the power output of base stations to reduce their energy consumption. This can be done without sacrificing performance by using data analytics to predict traffic patterns and identify times when certain parts of the network can be safely powered down.

• Optimizing Cellular Network: Another vital aspect in network optimization is Cell Sleep Mode (CSM). CSM involves essential parameters governing the schedule of network cell layers, with the sleep threshold determining when a cell layer enters low-power sleep mode and the wakeup threshold deciding when it reactivates. When enabled, CSM ensures efficient energy use by allowing cell layers to enter sleep mode during low-activity periods and seamlessly awakening them when needed. This approach offers significant energy savings without compromising network performance or reliability.

Emerging solutions

Emerging solutions, driven by the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), are poised to reshape the way telco operators manage their energy consumption. AI, with its ability to predict traffic patterns and dynamically adjust network settings for energy savings, offers the promise of not only reducing energy costs but also automating and optimizing network performance. Meanwhile, ML identifies and addresses energy inefficiencies within networks, improving overall efficiency and resource allocation. These technologies, although still in their nascent stages, hold the potential to significantly impact the telecommunications sector by providing substantial energy savings, reducing operational costs, and enhancing network performance and reliability.

These advanced solutions hold significant potential for the telecommunications industry, encompassing both environmental and economic dimensions. Through the adoption of these solutions, telco operators can pave the way for a more sustainable future for the industry, simultaneously enhancing the quality of service for their valued customers.

Use of renewable energy

Telco operators are increasingly using renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power, to power their networks. This can help to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Efficiency improvements

Telco operators are also investing in efficiency improvements to their networks. This includes things like:

• Deployment of Efficient Base Stations: Newer generations of base stations are more energy-efficient than their predecessors.

• Efficient Data Centers: Data centers are optimized with efficient cooling systems and heat recycling from IT equipment.

In addition to these solutions, telco operators can further reduce energy consumption by educating employees about energy conservation, employing smart meters to track usage, and investing in energy-efficient technologies like 5G.

Figure 2. Essential strategies for enhancing your network performance

Conclusion

In conclusion, telco operators are making substantial progress in conserving energy through network optimization. By leveraging AI, automation, ML, and collaborations with cloud providers, telco operators can simultaneously enhance network performance, reliability, and energy conservation. As these technologies continue to evolve, the industry can anticipate even more significant energy savings and operational costs in the future. Telco operators are steering the telecommunications sector toward a greener, more sustainable future, where efficiency and environmental responsibility go hand in hand.

Energy Network Optimization in Practice: Tupl’s PSA?

Tupl’s Power Saving Advisor (PSA) is an advanced solution designed to maximize the efficiency of RAN vendor’s power saving features in the network while minimizing the impact on end-users. It uses advanced machine learning algorithms and leverages Tupl’s MLOps capabilities together with an Action Manager component to minimize time-to-action.

The PSA solution addresses several challenges in the telecommunications industry:

• It automatically monitors Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and network energy consumption evolution over time at every topology level.
• It detects any deviations on KPIs and identifies KPI degradations.
• It proposes the next best parameter configuration to reduce energy consumption based on a ML core.
• It automates script creation for recommended actions.
• It provides customized views for quick analysis & validation on recommended actions.
• It provides dashboards and Energy Consumption reports at multiple network elements aggregations.

The benefits of implementing Tupl’s PSA are significant:

• It can achieve up to 25% more Energy Savings compared to vendor’s managed service, resulting in a 6-10%reduction of the electricity bill.
• It maintains Quality of Service (QoS).
• It reduces manual efforts by 90% by utilizing operators MOPs to generate scripts automatically.
• Operators maintain full control over the energy savings process and allow insourcing of managed services.
• It eliminates manual script creating processes that are prone to errors, ensuring 100% consistency.

In summary, Tupl’s PSA is a powerful tool that helps telecommunications operators significantly reduce their energy costs while maintaining a high-quality customer experience.