Mobile Network Alliance Touts Energy Saving AI

July 3, 2024 – The Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance released a publication that provides guidance and recommendations, including the use of artificial intelligence, for reducing energy consumption in mobile networks on Tuesday. 

“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. 

Data centers, which receive data from cellular towers, consume between 1 to 1.5 percent of global electricity, according to the International Energy Agency. This high consumption strains their processing capabilities and power usage.

With the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning, there is an increase in engineering improvements, and new technologies, along with estimating energy consumption, improve decision-making for energy savings, and identify low-energy efficiency sites, said Laurent Leboucher, member of the NGMN Alliance Board and Group CTO at Orange Innovations Networks. 

NGMN encouraged MNOs to share infrastructure and optimize network resources. Standard development organizations are further urged to enhance the interworking between mobile networks and energy suppliers.

The publication, called the "Green Future Networks: A Roadmap to Energy Efficient Networks,” details 16 energy-saving techniques and classifies each by type and deployment timeline. 

It builds on NGMN efforts to address short-term solutions for energy efficiency in mobile networks. The NGMN Alliance aims to guide the industry toward sustainable and affordable telecommunication services with a focus on disaggregated networks, Green Future Networks, and 6G.

The NGMN Alliance, founded by leading Mobile Network Operators, aims to ensure that next-generation network infrastructure and services meet the needs of operators and end users.