Abstract
Base stations represent the main contributor to the energy consumption of a mobile cellular network. Since traffic load in mobile networks significantly varies during a working or weekend day, it is important to quantify the influence of these variations on the base station power consumption. Therefore, this paper investigates changes in the instantaneous power consumption of GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) and UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) base stations according to their respective traffic load. The real data in terms of the power consumption and traffic load have been obtained from continuous measurements performed on a fully operated base station site. Measurements show the existence of a direct relationship between base station traffic load and power consumption. According to this relationship, we develop a linear power consumption model for base stations of both technologies. This paper also gives an overview of the most important concepts which are being proposed to make cellular networks more energy-efficient.
Highlights
According to [1], approximately 3% or 600 TWh of the worldwide electrical energy is consumed by the information and communication technology (ICT) sector
Since cellular networks constitute a significant part of the ICT sector, reducing consumption of cellular access networks will contribute to the energy consumption reductions of the whole ICT sector
We perform an investigation regarding the impact of the traffic intensity on the power consumption of base stations (BSs)
Summary
According to [1], approximately 3% or 600 TWh of the worldwide electrical energy is consumed by the information and communication technology (ICT) sector. The traditional concept of BS deployment assumes continuous operation in order to guarantee the quality of service anywhere and anytime Both of these reasons have synergistically contributed during the last decade to the significant growth of the total energy consumed by BSs of cellular network operators. This research area lacks papers offering thorough investigation regarding influence of the traffic load variations on the instantaneous power consumption of individual BSs or even complete BS sites. In some recent studies [5,6], authors use a linear models for expressing influence of the traffic load on the instantaneous power consumption of BS In these studies, linear interdependence was assumed without additional explanation regarding reasons for such assumption.
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