Traffic Load Influence on Power Consumption of GSM and UMTS Base Stations

Abstract

It has been shown that the base stations represent main contributor to the energy consumption of a mobile cellular network. Since traffic load in the mobile networks significantly varies during a working or weekend day, it is important to quantify influence of this variations on the base station power consumption. Therefore, this paper investigates changes in the instantaneous power consumption of the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) and UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) base stations according to their respective traffic load. The real data in terms of the electric current draw and traffic load have been obtained from continuous measurements performed on a fully operated base station site. Measurements show existence of direct relationship between base station traffic load and power consumption. This paper also gives an overview of the most important concepts which are being proposed to make mobile networks more energy-efficient.

Goran Petrović

Full Professor | Department of Electrical Measurements

Prof. dr. sc. Goran Petrović is a full professor at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Architecture in Split. His research interests include measurement of electrical and process quantities, analysis of geoelectrical and geothermal features of the soil, instrumentation for smart grids, measurement and application of synchrophasors. He is the author of numerous papers published in top-tier scientific journals and contributed to valuable international and national scientific projects.