Green Future Networks- A Roadmap to Energy Efficient Mobile Networks

New guidance on reducing energy consumption in mobile networks

Dusseldorf Germany, 02 July 2024.

Today, the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance (NGMN) published “Green Future Networks: A Roadmap to Energy Efficient Networks,” offering new guidance and recommendations on reducing energy consumption in mobile networks. This comprehensive roadmap aims to enhance energy-saving methods for MNOs and the wider industry.

This latest NGMN publication outlines 16 different energy saving techniques and intelligent solutions that are currently used or under development in the industry. Supported by real-world data, the publication highlights the energy saving potential of each solution and classifies each by type and by the time needed to develop and deploy them.

“Reducing energy consumption while maintaining service performance is a key ongoing challenge for the industry,” said Arash Ashouriha, Chairman of the NGMN Alliance Board and SVP Group Technology at Deutsche Telekom. “NGMN’s Green Future Networks Programme continues to provide the industry with valuable actionable guidance by pooling the very best of industry knowledge and shaping clear recommendations.”

According to the publication, energy consumption can be reduced through process optimisations, engineering and operational improvements, and the deployment of recent technologies. This is the latest phase of NGMN’s Green Future Networks programme, building on the previous publications that addressed the short-term solutions that mobile network operators (MNOs) could deploy.

The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to better plan and manage networks and match planned and operational capacity to predicted traffic is a key new addition to a number of the identified solutions. The publication outlines that AI can help estimate energy consumption, AI algorithms can help MNOs make improved energy saving decisions and highlights the importance of identifying low energy efficiency sites.

Laurent Leboucher, Member of the NGMN Alliance Board and Group CTO at Orange added: “Finding ways to reduce energy consumption and meet our climate goals is of utmost importance to the industry. The solutions span multiple domains: better network planning and engineering, improved network management, the application of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, and the development and use of new technologies. Only by working together and collaborating within industry alliances such as NGMN can we achieve these goals.”

As part of the publication, MNOs are encouraged to share wireless and RAN infrastructure and utilise the network resources to limit energy consumption and carbon emissions. It is also recommended that standards development organisations enhance interworking between mobile networks and energy suppliers as a method to reduce carbon footprints and costs, while maintaining service availability.

“Energy reduction, the use of renewables, and the continued delivery of high quality mobile services are non-negotiable cornerstones of how the mobile industry must operate now and in the future,” said Luke Ibbetson, Member of the NGMN Alliance Board and Head of Group R&D at Vodafone. “Vodafone is proud to have acted as co-lead for this initiative within NGMN and will continue to actively lead and support this important work going forward.”

The publication was developed with input from across the industry, with NGMN Partners representing operators, vendors, and research institutes. NGMN invites all parties across the entire value chain to join the Alliance in this important endeavour, namely Green Future Networks.

 

The publication can be downloaded from here.

The collaboration between NGMN’s partners helps drive the most important subjects in the industry today, including NGMN’s Strategic Focus Topics: Mastering the Route to Disaggregation, Green Future Networks and 6G. NGMN invites all parties across the entire value chain to join the Alliance in this important endeavour.

Further information and all NGMN publications can be found on the website at ngmn.org.

About NGMN Alliance

The NGMN Alliance (NGMN) is a forum founded by world-leading Mobile Network Operators and open to all Partners in the mobile industry. Its goal is to ensure that next generation network infrastructure, service platforms and devices will meet the requirements of operators and ultimately will satisfy end user demand and expectations. The vision of NGMN is to provide impactful industry guidance to achieve innovative, sustainable and affordable mobile telecommunication services for the end user with a particular focus on Mastering the Route to Disaggregation / Operating Disaggregated Networks, Green Future Networks and 6G, whilst continuing to support 5G’s full implementation.

NGMN seeks to incorporate the views of all interested stakeholders in the telecommunications industry and is open to three categories of participants/NGMN Partners: Mobile Network Operators (Members), vendors, software companies and other industry players (Contributors), as well as research institutes (Advisors). NGMN invites all parties across the entire value chain to join the Alliance in these important endeavours.