NGMN provides key recommendations and a roadmap for Mobile Network Energy Savings

“Reducing the energy consumption of mobile networks is an important contributor to our journey to become net-zero and recently it has become a focus of the industry due to increased energy costs,” said Arash Ashouriha, Chairman of the NGMN Alliance Board and SVP Group Technology at Deutsche Telekom. “Since 2020 NGMN has contributed guidance on Green Future Networks. Our continuous efforts at NGMN are an important step in enabling operators and suppliers to identify practical and immediate ways to reduce network energy consumption,” he added.

"Our journey to become net-zero is of utmost importance and reducing the energy footprint of our networks is a crucial step in achieving this goal. By maximizing energy efficiency, utilizing renewable energy sources, and implementing energy management solutions, we can continue to deliver high-quality mobile services while meeting our sustainability targets," stated Laurent Leboucher, Member of the NGMN Alliance Board, Group CTO and SVP Orange Innovation Networks at Orange.

This latest NGMN publication outlines and prioritises various options available to the industry to increase network energy efficiency. Energy saving approaches are organised into three broad categories and time-horizons: process optimisations – short-term; engineering optimisations – medium-term; and new technologies – long-term. Results highlight that it is possible – in the short-term – to reduce energy consumption by up to 10% by optimally configuring networks using existing power saving features. A table of recommended prioritised energy saving approaches is included in this publication. NGMN continues its work in this important area with further collaborative efforts focusing on energy management, metering and providing recommendations on the long-term energy roadmap for the industry.

“NGMN’s vision is to provide impactful and timely guidance to the industry”, said Anita Doehler, CEO at NGMN Alliance. “With the publication of Network Energy Efficiency Phase 2, we implement that vision. We provide prioritised energy saving recommendations addressing both; the immediate-term and the long-term roles that new processes, energy saving features and technologies will play in minimising the energy consumption of mobile networks,” she added.

The publication can be downloaded here: https://www.ngmn.org/wp-content/uploads/NGMN_Network_Engergy_Efficiency_Phase2.pdf.

Further information and all NGMN publications can be found on ngmn.org