Vodafone Germany to cut energy consumption, CO2 emissions

Vodafone Germany is the first operator to put Ericsson’s new Base Transceiver Station (BTS) Power Savings feature in place, a commercially available service that reduces energy consumption in mobile networks and makes an important contribution to cutting carbon-dioxide emissions.

During periods of low network traffic, the feature effectively puts those parts of the network that are not being used in standby mode – overcoming the traditional practice of having radio equipment continually turned on, which can result in energy being wasted.

Depending on the network traffic pattern, this innovation can save between 10 and 20% of the energy per BTS when a base station is in use, while still providing the same services and quality to end users.

The feature is compatible with all Ericsson GSM radio base stations introduced since 1995.

Vodafone Germany will install the energy-saving software upgrade across its base stations by the end of 2007. This initiative is part of the operator’s strategy to cut energy consumption in its mobile networks. Installing this software is expected to reduce energy usage and corresponding carbon-dioxide emissions.

If deployed across the 1 mln GSM Ericsson base stations globally, the power-saving feature could mean a collective energy saving of 10-20% in the radio access networks, which could result in a reduction in carbon-dioxide emissions of 1 mln tons. This highlights that sustainability and cost reductions can go hand in hand.

In 2006, Ericsson reduced the power consumption of its latest generation of WCDMA base stations by 35% and has pioneered the introduction of alternative energies, such as biofuel and solar power, to make mobile telephony economically and environmentally sustainable in emerging markets.