Nokia site solutions enhance power efficiency of AirScale deployments by up to 30 percent

Nokia announced the availability of its new expanded portfolio of energy-efficient site solutions designed for its industry-leading AirScale baseband portfolio, including a pre-integrated ‘all-in-one’ cabinet solution and a zero-footprint site solution that features a high-capacity (6kw) power rectifier with market-leading, 97 percent power efficiency. The optimized outdoor solutions reduce the total energy consumption on sites by up to 30 percent. The zero-footprint deployments use up to ninety-nine percent less cooling energy due to natural outdoor temperatures, avoiding site rental costs and requiring minimal space and installation time.

The easy-to-deploy ‘all-in-one’ outdoor, modular cabinets are available in different variants covering all site conditions. They can seamlessly accommodate pre-integrated components such as baseband units, Nokia’s advanced dual bay cooling systems enabling optimized cooling for electronics and batteries separately, as well as its latest high-performance, industry-leading rectifiers and batteries. Pre-integration means there is less demand for civil work as well as easier maintenance and reliability.

The zero-footprint solutions give mobile operators the option to install all equipment directly to a mast or wall, eliminating the need for air conditioning. This minimizes the consumption of energy and space as well as integration and maintenance costs for a wide variety of radio site deployment scenarios. Zero-footprint solutions are ideal also for noise-sensitive areas where solutions with fans and active cooling may not be an option.

These solutions are designed for NetAct, Nokia’s network management platform, and support many additional energy-saving features such as load shifting as well as solar power.

Energy consumption major driver of network transformation
Network energy costs account for approximately half of the costs facing network operators. In particular, the radio access network (RAN) accounts for approximately 80 percent of all mobile network energy consumption. The exponential growth in mobile traffic means that the number of sites and related power consumption is rising, and at the same time, energy prices are increasing. At traditional indoor radio sites, up to half of the energy consumption can be used by auxiliary components such as fans, cooling systems, lighting, and other power supplies. Nokia’s new site solutions can minimize this energy consumption while helping operators slash both their energy bills and their carbon footprints.

Nokia has set sustainability goals to reduce its environmental impact and help its customers to do the same. The company has committed to reducing its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across its value chain (Scope 1, 2, and 3) by 50 percent between 2019 and 2030. Nokia’s technology is designed to be energy efficient, contributing towards the climate and environmental targets of mobile operators.

Samir Kumar, Head of Mobile Network Services at Nokia, said: “Nokia’s expanded site solutions portfolio minimizes the energy consumption and deployment costs for virtually every radio site deployment scenario. Increased energy expenditure is a pain point for mobile network operators and our solutions help reduce these costs as well as having a significant environmental impact. This is another example of our commitment to ensuring we act sustainably throughout every area of our business.”

CT Bureau