An eco-inspired energy efficient access network architecture for next generation cellular systems

Improving energy efficiency, reducing carbon footprint and self-sustainability are key concerns in the design and development of future green communication networks. Therefore, in this paper, a novel energy efficient cellular access network architecture based on the principle of ecological proto-cooperation is proposed. Furthermore, for the first time, the wake-up technology is introduced to cellular access networks for implementing the proposed cooperative architecture. According to our proposal, base transceiver stations (BTSs) cooperatively and dynamically make intelligent decisions for switching between different power modes depending on network traffic conditions. Next, an extensive simulation process under different traffic patterns is carried out for identifying network parameters corresponding to optimal energy savings. The analysis of results reveals that the proposed architecture is capable of substantially reducing the energy consumption. In addition, as a secondary result, the proposed architecture offers an additional level of sustainability to the cellular access network infrastructure.