Over the next few years the growing cost of bulk diesel fuel,
coupled with wholesale electricity price increases, are likely to
offset significant gains in cellular base station power efficiency.
This will result in a collective network OPEX of $22 billion in 2013,
according to a new study from ABI Research. Starting in 2012, however,
the benefits of power consumption and efficiency advancements should
start to rein in the spiraling operating expenditures.
Infrastructure vendors are focusing intently on reducing power
consumption in their products through hardware integration, the use of
remote radio heads, and software-based solutions that provide dynamic
network dimensioning. These measures seem likely to reduce the average
base station power consumption level by 43% between 2007 and 2013, a
development that is eagerly awaited by the carrier community.
ABI Research vice president Stuart Carlaw says, “Although reducing
power consumption provides good ecological credentials for carriers and
vendors alike, the real driver for improving power consumption is
financial. It is imperative that carriers do everything possible to
negate rising energy costs in an environment where network traffic and
ARPUs are diverging.”
There are significant opportunities to integrate traditional power
sources with fast-improving renewable energy sources. Solar power
remains the front-runner but hybrid solutions including wind and
increased use of battery power will become ever more viable. Other
solutions such as fuel cells and compressed air are also on the
long-term radar.
Carlaw also notes that environmental consumerism could be a powerful
force in this area as it has been in other markets: “It is only a
matter of time before carriers begin to market services under the green
banner.”
A new ABI Research study, “Mobile Networks Go Green”
examines the mechanisms being put into place by carriers and
infrastructure vendors to reduce power consumption, ranging from
network optimization to hardware integration, power amplifier
efficiency, and software-based dynamic asset dimensioning. It also
considers the opportunity to integrate renewable energy sources into
the primary power sources for cell sites, focusing on solar, wind, and
hybrid solutions combining renewable cells, grid-based electricity,
diesel generation and battery banks.
The report forms part of ABI Research’s Mobile Networks Research Service,
which also include other Research Reports, Research Briefs, Market
Data, Online Databases, ABI Insights, ABI Vendor Matrices, and analyst
inquiry support.