White Paper
How to Make a Network Sustainable
Without Affecting Service
Unleash the Power of Total Experience in Telco 2
What you will learn:
Why telecom sustainability is becoming
a business imperative
What green initiatives have been undertaken
in the industry so far
The drawbacks of the existing approach
to optimizing energy consumption
How CSPs can benefit from AI-driven systems
that enable resource allocation for energy savings
and more
With the expenses of energy constantly increasing, the establishment of net-zero goals, and the demands on network
services expanding, energy usage has become crucial for sustainable operations in telco. However, the increasingly
complex nature of telecom ecosystems makes achieving resource efficiency extremely challenging without the help of
AI/ML-driven tools. Therefore, telecom operators are in urgent need of advanced automated systems that allow them to
maximize the utilization of their networks without compromising performance.
Why the (already) massive energy appetite
of telco only gets bigger
Telecommunications services are a fundamental part network of interconnected devices, akin to transmitters.
of our interconnected world, but their operation comes The modern digital landscape, fueled by the demand
at a staggering cost in terms of energy consumption. for personalized services and location-based content,
With an extensive network of facilities and infra- requires this density in our device network. It’s not just
structure, this industry is a voracious consumer of about convenient access to smartphones, but the deliv-
electricity. According to GSMA, in developed countries, ery of tailored content and services right at the fingertips
it’s estimated to account for a substantial 2-3% of the of end-customers.
total energy production, and this is steadily on the rise.
This upward trend is not just a significant financial burden The introduction of new IoT services and visionary
on the energy production and delivery systems, it’s also initiatives promising seamless communication with
an environmental concern. autonomous vehicles, drones, and their integration with
IT systems, introduces yet another layer of complexity.
This upward trajectory is further amplified by the ever-in- It requires reliable network availability, which only
creasing frequencies used in radio systems, essential for amplifies the need for an even denser network – more
achieving required data speeds. The result is a sprawling devices mean more connectivity.
Unleash the Power of Total Experience in Telco 3
Green initiatives from device design to open networks
The sustainability challenge has already been addressed of base stations constructed from publicly available
in the design of telecommunications network devices. equipment, thanks to the Open RAN Initiative, ushering
The quest to make them more energy-efficient trans- in more democratized connectivity solutions.
lates into fewer energy dollars per transmitted gigabyte
of data. Yet, as the need for data grows, the gains in However, another issue emerges: seamless integration
efficiency are often eclipsed. into the network, adherence to standards, and approv-
al from the operator. These innovative approaches
Furthermore, the colossal demand for new base stations, are predominantly leveraged within private networks
the very backbone of radio coverage, has reached levels and network slicing, marking a transformative
that even the biggest vendors find challenging to meet. path towards a more sustainable and efficient
In the realm of 5G technology, we witness the emergence telecommunications landscape.
Powering the core network: electricity costs and carbon
footprint in the backbone
The weight of electricity costs extends its influence deep Recently, transformative solutions have paved
into the heart of telecommunications, encompassing the way for the dynamic placement of logical functions
the core network elements – the very pillars that within an ever-shifting landscape of physical elements.
underpin the delivery of innovative services across In today’s telecommunications realm, this flexibility is
various locations, meaning: data centers. Considered of paramount importance, driven by the high-performance
by many to be even more important than reducing requirements of a myriad of services and their fluctuating
energy costs is the increasingly important factor related parameters, tailored to specific service goals.
to minimizing the carbon footprint left by activities in
the ICT services industry.
Unleash the Power of Total Experience in Telco 4
This migration of virtual logic functions across a spectrum of physical devices doesn’t just boost the performance of
advanced services; it also offers a unique opportunity for energy optimization by taking such measures as:
• The reduction of energy consumption • Prioritizing the activities of locations
at the location using green energy
• A temporary shutdown of physical locations • Optimization of the use of measures
affecting the carbon footprint in order
to maintain infrastructure
The inefficiency of the existing approach
to energy usage optimization
The reason behind the majority of methods being the configuration exclusively in response to permanent
underutilized is simple: they’re incredibly labor-intensive alterations or by simply turning off and on base
and time-consuming. The absence of automated systems stations (or, less frequently, transmission systems)
analyzing network situations and implementing design at predetermined times of the year or days
and configurations necessitates the efforts of numerous without actively monitoring the current traffic.
specialists and teams. Expanding the scope of activities leads to a significant
rise in costs (especially for optimization and
Therefore, current measures for optimizing energy maintenance teams). This hinders holistic
consumption rely on static, long-term analysis of problem-solving. Fortunately, modern solutions have
a limited number of parameters. Changes are made to grown dynamically in recent years.
Unleash the Power of Total Experience in Telco 5
A step into the future where automation
is the cornerstone of sustainability
and streamlining operations
The rise of automated systems has revolutionized that affect recommendations. The previously stated
the landscape, replacing traditional specialists and solutions, which demanded a significant amount of
unleashing unprecedented levels of productivity. involvement, no longer necessitate such high costs and
These systems effortlessly navigate complex can now be executed widely.
processes, drawing insights from both historical data
and real-time inputs within IT and telco networks. A modern, advanced system powered by AI and ML
They have been developed to work on multiple aim to deliver services derived from orders created in
policies, criteria, and parameters simultaneously. other products by allocating ideal hardware and virtual
These systems analyze input data consistently, resources based on thorough analysis of the type
creating recommendations for further action in nearly and parameters of services from the service catalog,
all situations. Simultaneously, the data collected can extending to the supplier’s original service price list.
be used to control the correlation between input data With access to information on the service endpoints
from detection and the formulated recommendations’ (for mobile services, a geographical area) and
effectiveness. the service parameters, it chooses the physical
implementation of the service and employs hardware
While these recommendations often have historical solutions that guarantee optimal service delivery.
data as their foundation, the initial deployment of AI/
ML-driven automated systems is a partnership between This definition of the operating mode highlights
technology and human expertise. This stage allows the significance of the data provided to the product.
the system to learn suitable responses to analytical Information must be comprehensive, accurate,
outcomes resulting from detection, thus enhancing and aligned with the selection criteria. This includes
the efficacy and quality of its responses. It is now catalog energy consumption data and actual
feasible to carry out these AI/ML-powered procedures consumption measured in real time.
on a continuous basis, and expand them to other areas
Unleash the Power of Total Experience in Telco 6
How CSPs can benefit from AI-driven systems
that enable resource allocation for energy
savings and more
Using the selected information, the system determines resources based on energy efficiency, but its technical
the ideal configuration for physical and virtual resources, specifications exceed the necessary requirements.
which are then implemented through an automated, Previously, due to high workload, it operated on energy-
continuous process. The fully automatic system always intensive resources right from the start, causing those
chooses the most energy-efficient configurations of with lower energy consumption to remain idle until
network elements to provide services. Simultaneously, a service with higher demands was available.
it guarantees that newly implemented services are
offered in optimal conditions, occasionally resulting in If this process is automated, there is no logical reason
significant modifications to the current configuration. for reserving resources unnecessarily. The system
is guided primarily by technical requirements and
This occurs when the new service requires higher data analyzes whether completing the order is possible. It then
throughput and can be implemented using existing devises a change to the existing service and executes it,
resources. The existing service has been assigned freeing up space for the new service.
Transform your telecom for a more sustainable future
with Comarch
Comarch is a leading industry player with an in- Comarch’s solution addresses the challenge of
depth understanding of operators’ needs and sustainability by optimizing network utilization while
the constant search for innovation to drive success. maintaining the performance of energy-saving features.
Our product development is based on industry Our system is highly versatile, as it can be configured
standards, and we often take the lead in the market for various policies, such as those focused on energy
by offering tools that support CSPs in delivering value savings, service quality and more. Additionally, it has
beyond just connectivity. a wide range of applications, including resource
allocation planning, optimization, and ensuring business
continuity and service quality, including during outages.
ABOUT COMARCH
Since 1993, Comarch’s specialist telecommunications business unit has worked with some of the biggest telecoms companies in the world to transform
their business operations. Our industry-recognized telco OSS and BSS products help telecoms companies streamline their business processes and simplify
their systems to increase business efficiency and revenue, as well as to improve the customer experience and help telcos bring innovative services to market.
Comarch’s customers in telecommunications include Telefónica, Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone, KPN and Orange.
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