By using network intelligence to cut RAN power consumption, ZTE is helping operators work towards sustainability goals
As 5G deployments expand globally to support increasing demand for mobile data, operators are spending billions in capital to build out radio access network (RAN) infrastructure and, subsequently, seeing an increase in operating costs associated with network power consumption. But it doesn’t have to be that way. With the use of artificial intelligence (AI), data analytics, and other technologies, operators can get a granular understanding of when power is and is not needed, then use that contextual information to implement energy-saving policies. This approach can help reduce RAN power consumption, without compromising performance, while helping service providers reduce carbon emissions as part of larger corporate sustainability strategies.
Research from GSMA Intelligence found that operators self-reported that 73% of network energy consumption came from the RAN with the remainder split between the core network, owned data centers and other operations. According to Daniel Ding, ZTE Senior 5G Marketing Director, this is exactly why operators should focus their energy-reduction efforts first on the RAN.
“Many operators have set ambitious targets about carbon neutrality or carbon net zero,” Ding told RCR Wireless News. “We can see that according to a lot of data…that the power consumption of the network will be more and more because we have more data requirements. From 2020 to 2030, in that 10-year period, power consumption will probably triple. If we look into the network infrastructure, the radio network, the RAN, takes up a very big chunk of the energy consumption.”
To hear more of Ding’s perspective on this important topic, watch this detailed video interview.
ZTE’s approach to reducing RAN power consumption comes together in its PowerPilot Pro, an AI based innovative solution, which uses network telemetry and automated decision-making to dynamically scale radio resources to meet performance demands in the most energy efficient manner. PowerPilot Pro doesn’t just examine data points from a single domain; rather it performs cross-domain data analysis to recognize potential energy-saving scenarios, predict network traffic trends and even performs multi-cell coordination to determine optimal energy-saving policies.
“AI is probably the only way to solve the problem,” Ding said. “We are talking about millions of base stations. The parameters are very complicated and a lot of things are linked with one another. For human beings it’s really just impossible to do that.” He said a cloud-based platform approach to creating large-scale AI training has driven ZTE’s approach to reducing network energy consumption. “We have a very unique approach, we extended AI to the base stations” he said, explaining that the system is increasingly dynamic and responsive, providing near real-time actionability.
The end result of deploying AI at individual base stations and providing big picture AI analysis in a centralized cloud is actionable data flows in milliseconds. The predecessor of PowerPilot Pro, PowerPilot won the “Outstanding Catalyst—Impact for Society” award from TMForum in 2020 and the “Innovative Breakthrough in Mobile Technology Award” at GTI 2021. The solution has been deployed in more than three dozen networks across some 900,000 radio sites; with the solution power consumption can be reduced by up to 35 percent comparing without any power saving feature network.
ZTE’s work with AI is leading to more cutting-edge research, development and commercial activity around intent-based autonomous control of mobile networks, including this ongoing focus on creating greener networks. Ding is tracking the ongoing developing of network autonomy in coming 3GPP specifications, including the vision of 5G-Advanced. And, given the mobile industry’s importance in enabling other key vertical industries, the greening of mobile industries serves as a force multiplier that will drive sustainability in other sectors.
“If we look into the future, we see a very bright future because the 5G transmits data way more efficiently than other technologies,” Ding said. “We won’t impact the end user’s 5G experience and at the same time we’re doing this magic under the hood. We see a very bright future of the mobile industry…Everything we see is on the right path and we’re looking to a greener future.”
