State of energy: What every op must know

BANGALORE, INDIA: As mobile operators seek new ways to meet the ever-increasing need for bandwidth today and in the future, they face many challenges - evolving technology and new applications.

The continued data growth of connected devices is predicted to reach $50 billion by 2020. One reason for this insatiable data demand is mobile video. Mobile video and remaining connected with every aspect of life require more bandwidth, which in turn requires more energy as well as steep investments in network infrastructure - money that services must find a way to recoup.

The energy required to fuel this increased demand in bandwidth brings its own inherent challenges:

*energy grids that grow less reliable every year.

*energy costs that escalate annually.

*energy demands that are quickly outgrowing supplies.

There is a need for operators to shift their focus on reducing energy consumption in their networks. The key to achieving this goal is simple - increase energy efficiency and reduce energy spend; however, it is easier said than done because energy is a large multi-faceted line item in every wireless operator's budget.

Sometimes, that budget is so large and complex that it is often difficult to know where to start. The solution to this issue is to identify and implement the right energy-saving and energy-efficient solutions for networks so operators can their achieve energy conservation goals and overcome network infrastructure challenges.

Operators can achieve long-lasting energy efficiency while reducing their energy budget by adopting the following measures:

Reduce the power consumption associated with cooling shelter systems

There are two simple ways to reduce power consumption of networks - supplementing air conditioners for shelters with free-air cooling solutions and hybrid cooling techniques for outside plant enclosures.

Free air-cooling solutions shorten the length of time an air conditioner must run to cool equipment while still operating in safe equipment temperature ranges. This can help reduce the overall power consumption required to run a cell site by as much as 25 per cent.

Reduce power consumption associated with cooling power and battery back-up enclosures

Research shows that operators can save as much as $2,000 per site, per year by simply using more energy-efficient power and battery back-up solutions with hybrid cooling technology for enclosure cooling, while also reducing exhaust containing greenhouse gases including carbon dioxide.

Find a more efficient conversion from AC to DC power

High efficiency rectifiers improve efficiency of AC to DC conversion from 89 per cent to greater than 94 per cent. This simple change can result in an approximate energy-cost savings of almost $1,500 per site, per year.

Identify, replace or upgrade inefficient, energy-wasting, carbon-dioxide emitting back-up power equipment.

Now, that the true impact of energy-wasting equipment is better understood, many operators are also looking for ways to build energy efficiency into their network at every stage of design and implementation. Back-up generators at cell sites are commonly powered by diesel fuel, and its exhaust contains greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide.

As fossil fuel prices continue to rise, wireless operators are searching for an alternative to diesel-powered generators that are more reliable and have less of an impact on the environment. Some operators are reducing emissions by deploying hydrogen fuel cells for backup.

The deployment of a hydrogen fuel cell also helps reduce power consumption by eliminating trickle charging required to keep batteries charged. In addition to having a clean, reliable and stable power source, operators can also reduce the amount of truck rolls dispatched to a cell site for repairs and diesel fuel delivery.

In most cases, the base electronics can also be integrated inside the fuel cell cabinet, which further reduces capital and operational costs of a site.

Upgrade inefficient, energy-wasting equipment and network designs

One of the largest energy-consuming resources on a cell site is the power amplification unit of the radio system. In markets where wireless subscriptions are increasing at a rapid pace, stronger amplifiers are needed to provide better coverage.

While power amplification is necessary to overcome radio-frequency losses as signals are transmitted to the top of the tower, the associated energy consumption is costly and unavoidable. Today, new base station architectures using remote radio heads and hybrid remote fiber feeder cables can significantly reduce the total power load of a cell site.

Lower energy consumption associated with shipping and handling

One way to reduce energy consumption that is often overlooked is shipping costs. When solution providers reduce packing density and design products to be smaller and lighter, with the same high performance as larger-size products, solution providers and operators can work together to reduce energy consumption and carbon-dioxide emissions associated with shipping.

Effectively manage Passive Inter-Modulation (PIM)

In the past, when operators needed capacity, they simply built more cell sites or added more equipment to their current sites. Today, this approach is inefficient and unpractical because tower space is limited, adding new cell sites is costly and the CapEx and OpEx investments cannot be justified on limited budgets.

One solution is to find new and effective ways to increase capacity. Passive Inter-Modulation (PIM) noise is one of the biggest contributors to poor cell site capacity-making PIM management a top priority for wireless operators. With the improvement of PIM, data throughput improves and this, in turn, helps improve capacity and conserve energy. By improving the capacity of cell sites, energy costs will be reduced by eliminating the need for additional towers and radios.

Manage and control antennas tilt and bean patterns on a cell site based on traffic loads

Traditionally, operators installed additional towers and radios when they needed to increase coverage and capacity. Today, it is more critical than ever for operators to make better use of existing resources-to do more with what they already have.

This requires investing in intelligent solutions that are also more energy efficient. When compared to installing additional towers and radios, managing the tilt and beam patterns at a cell site to optimize coverage and capacity can result in significantly less power consumption. Operators want to deploy solutions that enable them to continually sense and redistribute traffic evenly across all sectors, so they can make better use of the existing resources.

Amplify power more efficiently when adding carriers and new technology to a cell site

When upgrading a cell site, traditional methods of power amplifications are not typically energy efficient, which can increase energy costs exponentially. By deploying multi-carrier power amplifiers, operators can provide cost-effective capacity growth and coverage extension.

Each standard field replaceable unit is highly configurable for indoor and outdoor applications. Packed with full RF-band filtering, platform interoperability, scalable capacity and easy onsite reconfiguration, it enables operators to add capacity and fill holes in coverage without increasing tower inventory.

Conclusion

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. As a result, many operators have set goals to reduce their energy consumption by approximately 25 percent within the next 10 years.

By working with the right advisors to deploy solutions that increase energy efficiency and reduce their energy spend, operators with a 100-site network can have annual savings of $5,00,000. With more than one million cell sites around the world, operators can make significant reductions to their energy costs.

The author is vice president, Wireless Sales APAC & India at Commscope.