Vodafone & Ericsson trial energy-efficient 5G radio

The controlled deployment of Ericsson’s antenna-integrated radio solution, the AIR 3227, at Vodafone’s Speechmark offices in London saw the mobile operator’s daily network energy consumption decrease by up to 55% at off-peak times.

Following the completion of the trial, 1,500 of the new radios will now be deployed across Vodafone’s network by April 2022. The duo claim this will help to reduce Vodafone’s forecasted energy consumption of its future 5G network and “support a sustainable and responsible 5G rollout”.

Andrea Dona, chief network officer at Vodafone UK, said: “Our strategy is simple; turn off anything we don’t need, replace legacy equipment with up-to-date alternatives and use the most energy efficient options available.

“The success of this trial allows us to explore new ways we can more effectively manage the energy consumption of our network with our partner Ericsson. There is no silver bullet to manage our network energy consumption - it is about putting sustainability at the heart of every decision and adding up all the small gains to make a material difference.”