Self-optimizing antenna muting - energy consumption and user thoughput analysis

Energy consumption in mobile networks, e.g. 3G networks, may be a substantial part of an operator´s expenses. A large part of the total energy of the network is consumed by the radio access network. Today operators are saving energy by turning off carriers or cells during periods with low traffic by manually configuring on-off periods. At the same time, operators are seeking to increase cost efficiency through simplifying network management processes by means of automation. In this paper we address energy saving by introducing an approach that automatically and without operator involvement deactivates radio units during periods with low load. We demonstrate the benefits of antenna deactivation using a dynamic simulator and a realistic deployment based on a major Western European city. The results presented suggest that there is potential for significantly enhancing the energy efficiency in mobile networks by adaptive activation of radio units.