Vodafone UK and Ericsson achieved a significant milestone in their network sustainability efforts by reducing daily power consumption of 5G Radio Units by up to 33 percent at select sites across London. The results come from a trial of Ericsson’s AI and M) powered software solutions.
Ericsson's Service Continuity AI App suite with Intelligent Energy Efficiency dynamically manages the network's energy needs without compromising on performance, supporting operators to reduce their operating expenditure (OPEX) and carbon emissions. As part of the trial, Vodafone UK implemented three key use cases: 5G Deep Sleep, 4G Cell Sleep Mode orchestration, and a Radio Power Efficiency Heatmap. These features work in tandem to measure, predict, and optimize energy consumption across the network, with the ability to power down components during low-traffic periods and rapidly reactivate them when needed.
"By working with Ericsson to successfully apply these innovative software solutions to our network, we’re able to significantly improve energy efficiency without impacting the service our customers receive. Reducing power consumption at our trial sites is a big win – both financially and environmentally, and shows we can continue to improve the efficiency of our network as we build 5G coverage across the UK," said Andrea Donà, Chief Network Officer & Network Director at Vodafone UK.
"It's exciting to see how our work with Vodafone UK is making a real difference. Our ability to significantly reduce network energy consumption while maintaining high-performance standards is a testament to the innovation and expertise of our combined teams. I'm really proud of what we've achieved here - it's an important milestone in our ongoing journey to make networks smarter and more sustainable," said Katherine Ainley, CEO of Ericsson UK and Ireland.
