Vodafone Germany to reduce energy consumption

Vodafone Germany is the first operator to put Ericsson's new Base Transceiver Station (BTS) Power Savings feature in place. The feature, which is commercially available, significantly reduces energy consumption in mobile networks and makes a contribution to cutting carbon-dioxide emissions.

During periods of low network traffic, the feature effectively puts those parts of the network that are not being used in standby mode - overcoming the traditional practice of having radio equipment continually turned on, which can result in energy being wasted.

Depending on the network traffic pattern, this innovation can save between 10 and 20 percent of the energy per BTS when a base station is in use, while still providing the same services and quality to end users.

The feature is compatible with all Ericsson GSM radio base stations introduced since 1995.

Vodafone Germany will install the energy-saving software upgrade across its base stations by the end of 2007. This initiative is part of the operator's strategy to cut energy consumption in its mobile networks. Installing this software is expected to reduce energy usage and corresponding carbon-dioxide emissions.

If deployed across the 1 million GSM Ericsson base stations globally, the power-saving feature could mean a collective energy saving in carbon-dioxide emissions of one million tons.

The Base Transceiver Station (BTS) Power Savings feature was formerly named BTS Standby feature.