Nokia Bell Labs and KDDI Research Develop Energy-Efficient Base Station Technology
Nokia Bell Labs and KDDI Research have developed a new method to significantly reduce power consumption in cellular base stations without compromising network speed.
Nokia Oyj's Bell Labs and KDDI Research have partnered to develop technology aimed at substantially reducing the energy consumption of 5G base stations. This collaboration seeks to foster more sustainable mobile networks to meet rising data demands, exacerbated by the proliferation of AI and video streaming.
The newly developed technique, named Intelligent 4D Resource Optimization, dynamically adjusts a base station's radio resources in real-time based on traffic volume. This allows equipment to enter rest periods when significant data transmission is not required. The method optimizes four key parameters: transmission time, spectrum usage, antenna activation, and transmission power, thereby minimizing unnecessary energy expenditure.
Proof-of-concept for this technology was validated in trials at Nokia Bell Labs headquarters in New Jersey during March. The tests demonstrated up to a 40% reduction in power consumption while maintaining the same throughput levels compared to current 5G base station equipment. Furthermore, it was shown that throughput could be increased fourfold without an increase in power consumption, significantly boosting energy efficiency.
The collaboration will continue under a new joint research agreement, focusing on coordinating multiple base stations and frequency bands to maximize network-wide energy savings. Findings will be shared with the industry to ensure energy efficiency is a foundational element in the design of future 6G standards.