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Reducing CO2 emissions from mobile

communications – BTS Power Savings


and Tower Tube
Peter Hjorth, Nina Lövehagen, Jens Malmodin and Kent Westergren

Climate change is high on the global agenda and Ericsson is strongly Ericsson is actively working to reduce the
committed to doing its part by reducing the environmental impact of its energy consumption of its products, in part
operations and by providing sustainable solutions to customers and soci- because this reduces CO2 emissions, and in
ety. For example, Ericsson is taking steps to decrease the environmental part because it results in lower operating
costs.
impact of its products by improving their energy efficiency.
The authors describe Ericsson’s work using life cycle assessments
(LCA) to understand the total potential environmental impact and perfor- Life cycle assessments
mance of its products and services, especially of CO2 emissions. They LCAs are used to analyze the environmental
then present two specific examples of energy-reduction solutions: BTS aspects and potential environmental impact
Power Savings, and the Tower Tube concept for building telecom sites. associated with a given product over the
course of its lifetime (Figure 1). This holistic
view applies to products, systems and servic-
es. Life cycle assessments can be divided into
two major phases:
Introduction holders, such as customers, investors and • inventory phase – life cycle inventory
analysts. Life cycle assessments are a useful (LCI); and
There is a growing need to measure and measurement technique for understanding • impact assessment phase – life cycle im-
calculate the environmental impact of the relative significance of a product or sys- pact assessment (LCIA).
products, systems, and services. Indeed, tem’s environmental performance – in par- The LCI examines a given activity or set of
Ericsson receives frequent requests for this ticular, CO2 emissions, which contribute to activities (often at factory sites) by study-
kind of information from a variety of stake- global warming. ing the use of energy, materials, and land
resources, as well as emissions into the air,
water and ground. The findings are put into
a tree structure together with the inputs and
Figure 1 outputs (I/O) of the supply chain and the fu-
LCA including LCI and LCIA phases. ture life cycle of the product (transport, use,
and scrapping). In the telecommunication
D[[^XZh!igVkZa
sector, the associated environmental impact
VcYXdbbji^c\ from offices, travel and commuting should
also be included.
Djiejid[ The results of the LCI (use of resources,
Zb^hh^dch emissions to air, water and ground) are evalu-
>cejid[ idV^g
ZcZg\n tated during the LCIA. The LCI and LCIA
VcYlViZg
have been standardized in the ISO 1404x
series of environmental management stan-
dards. The I/Os of each activity, as well as
how they might impact the environment, are
A8>6
A86hd[ilVgZ combined using LCA software. The results
>cejid[bViZg^Vah
VcYX]Zb^XVah are then interpreted and can be prioritized
into a list of products and activities that have
Djiejid[
the greatest impact on the environment.
Zb^hh^dch >ciZgegZiVi^dc
idlViZg d[gZhjaih
Ericsson LCAs of mobile
communications
Ericsson uses LCAs to analyze the potential
Djiejid[lVhiZ
Djiejid[egdYjXih environmental impacts of its products and
services, and to understand the total energy
balance within its sphere of influence. As an
A8> A^hid[VheZXih assessment tool, an LCA reveals the rela-
GVlbViZg^Vah l^i]Zck^gdcbZciVa
BVcj[VXijg^c\d[
^beVXi tive significance of Ericsson’s environmental
eVgih!XdbedcZcih HXgVee^c\! impact and gives the company direction
gZXnXa^c\!lVhiZ
regarding areas of improvement. The scope
BVcj[VXijg^c\
d[egdYjXi JhZd[ of Ericsson’s LCA work is “cradle to grave”;
egdYjXi
IgVchedgi
that is, it covers every phase of a product or
system’s life cycle, including raw material
extraction, production, supplier activities,
transportation, terminals, RBS site materi-

26 Ericsson Review No. 1, 2008

Review108.indd 26 08-01-21 16.11.41


Relative environmental impact
EZgVkZgV\Z >beVXieZgXVe^iV
Environmental impact categories hjWhXg^WZgVccjVaan ^ci]ZldgaY'%%&

BViZg^VagZhdjgXZYZeaZi^dc GVlbViZg^Vah":dAI (%#)\G9;*% %#%+

:cZg\ngZhdjgXZYZeaZi^dc BVcj[VXijg^c\ DeZgVi^dc &'#+`\d^aZfk# %#),

<adWValVgb^c\ (*`\8D'Zfk# %#)+

6X^Y^[^XVi^dc '-\HD'Zfk# %#()

<gdjcY"aZkZadodcZ!]jbVch '.\CD'Zfk# %#),

<gdjcY"aZkZadodcZ!kZ\ZiVi^dc '.\CD'Zfk# %#'.

6fjVi^XZjigde]^XVi^dc ,#-\CidiVa %#%*

IZggZhig^VaZjigde]^XVi^dc '#,\CidiVa %#&* Figure 2


=jbVcidm^X^in LdgaYVkZgV\Z::dAI ''\EB'Zfk# z0.007% Relative environmental impact of a
complete WCDMA network in 2005 and
:XdhnhiZbidm^X^in HXZcVg^d *.%%b(W^dh z0.1%
average impact per subscriber. Expres-
HigVidhe]Zg^XdodcZYZeaZi^dc %#%%%)\8;8"&&Zfk# %#%%%' sed in absolute terms and normalized to
AVcYjhZ DeZgVidg %#*.b' %#%%( average impact per capita in the world
(2001). All twelve major impact catego-
% &%%
ries included.

als, operator and office activities, and end-of- impact (percentage) than other categories, Ericsson has made energy-efficiency activities
life treatment. such as land use. an integral part of its R&D activities, setting
Ericsson conducted its first LCA for ra- In the mobile communications LCAs, the aggressive targets in this area.
dio base stations (RBS) in 1994-1995. This difference between CO2 and CO2e is not very Ericsson’s LCAs have shown that an im-
work was later expanded to include mobile great. On average, CO2e is 3% higher mainly portant environmental parameter is energy
phones and core network equipment – that due to CH4 emissions during fuel production consumption during manufacturing and
is, a complete second-generation mobile and from the sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) and while operating mobile communications
communications system modeled on actual perfluorocarbons (PFC) used to manufacture equipment (terminals, RBSs, switches, and
networks in Sacramento, California (USA) integrated circuits (IC). so on).
and Stockholm, Sweden. In 2002, Ericsson Because of the strong relationship between Ericsson’s LCAs show that, on average,
also completed an LCA of a third-generation CO2 emissions/energy efficiency, and because one new GSM subscription (2006) contrib-
WCDMA network. The study complied in telecom networks are largely energy driven, utes about 24kg of CO2e emissions per year
full with the ISO 1404x series of LCA stan-
dards. It was also peer reviewed and accepted
by independent scientists.
Early on, Ericsson chose to use CO2 and
TERMS AND ABBREVIATIONS
CO2-equivalent (CO2e) emissions as preferred
environmental indicators. Whereas CO2 re- BB Broadband LCD Liquid crystal display
fers to direct CO2 emissions, the CO2e figures BCCH Broadcast channel LCI Life cycle inventory
include gases such as methane (CH4), which BSC Base station controller LCIA Life cycle impact assessment
when decomposed, turns into CO2. When BTS Base transceiver station NO2 Nitrogen dioxide
CFC Chlorofluorocarbons (Freon) N-total Nitrogen total load
performing LCAs, Ericsson studies twelve CH4 Methane PA Power amplifier
major categories of environmental impact. CO2 Carbon dioxide PCB Printed circuit board
However, because several of these are linked CO2e CO2 equivalent PFC Perfluorocarbons
to the CO2e indicator, the primary focus is EEoLT Electronics end-of-life treatment PM10 Particulate matter, particles with
on CO2e emissions. The strong link between EoLT End-of-life treatment diameter of ≤10µm
GDP Gross domestic product R&D Research and development
CO2e and energy consumption can be attrib- GSM Global system for mobile RBS Radio base station
uted to the use of oil, coal and fossil gas as communications RDF50 Resource depletion factor using a
energy sources. HW Hardware 50-year time frame
Figure 2 shows the relative environmen- IC Integrated circuit SF6 Sulfur hexafluoride
ICT Information and communication SO2 Sulfur dioxide
tal impact of a WCDMA network per mo- technology SW Software
bile phone subscriber and the distribution I/O Input/output TRX Transceiver (transmitter + receiver)
between raw material, manufacturing, oper- ISO International Organization for TCH Traffic channel
ation, and operation activities. The indicators Standardization TS Timeslot
that relate to global warming have a greater LCA Life cycle assessment

Ericsson Review No. 1, 2008 27

Review108.indd 27 08-01-21 16.11.57


(Figure 3). This amount is comparable to the
@^ad\gVbhd[8D'eZgVkZgV\ZhjWhXg^WZgVccjVaan
CO2 emissions of an average petrol-powered
'%
automobile driven a little more than one
&* <HB'<!'%%+/')`\ hour on a motorway (125km, 10.5 liters).
GZhjaihVgZXdch^hiZcil^i]
&%
deZgVidg[^ZaYYViV
The annual emissions of CO2e per mobile
*
phone subscription have dropped signifi-
cantly throughout the years. On average, the
%
emissions of the first analog systems were
BdW^aZe]dcZ G7H DeZgVidg about 180kg/yr, and about 90kg/yr for the
'% first digital systems.
&* The main contributors of energy consump-
&%
tion/CO2e emissions from mobile communi-
L89B6(<!'%%+/'.`\ cations come from
* GZ[ZghidbVijgZhnhiZbh
• operation of RBS hardware (including aux-
% iliaries), cooling and power conversion;
• mobile phone manufacturing, especially
DeZgVi^dc the electronics: ICs, PCBs, LCDs and bat-
BVcj[VXijgZg teries;
HjeeanX]V^c
• RBS site materials – for example, the man-
ufacturing of antenna towers, site hous-
Figure 3 ings, batteries, cooling, and power equip-
Impact on global warming from completely new GSM and WCDMA mobile networks, ment, such as rectifiers; and
including the phones of subscribers and operator activities. Expressed in kilograms of • operator activities – for example, offices,
CO2e/year per average subscriber. vehicles and stores.
The examples below show how Ericsson is
striving to reduce energy consumption and
cut down on the materials used to manufac-
ture sites.

Reduced energy con-


sumption in GSM radio
networks
Ericsson launched the BTS Power Savings
feature at the end of 2007. This software
Figure 4 feature enables operators to manage base
Schematic picture of the BTS Power Savings feature and an example of power consump- transceiver station (BTS) hardware in a vastly
tion over time. more energy-efficient way – on average it
yields a 15% to 25% reduction in BTS power
I^bZhadih)¶&*LZVX] consumption.
E6VXi^kZs(%L CdgbVaG7HedlZgXdchjbei^dc
9^\^iVa'*L
EdlZgXdchjbei^dc Hardware functionality and network
l^i]G7HedlZghVk^c\h
'\gVYZd[hZgk^XZ
traffic variation
Y^bZch^dc^c\a^cZ From a power-consumption point of view, a
IGM& IGM' IGM( IGM)
IgV[[^XadVYkVg^Vi^dc GSM transmitter can be split into three parts:
L d[Y^b8^inh^iZ
788=IGM I8=IGM I8=IGM I8=IGM &)%% • digital signal processing;
• radio power amplifier (PA); and
&'%%
• active timeslots (TS) – with one timeslot
&%%% allocated per call.
-%% Ordinarily, there is more than one TRX in
+%%
&%% a radio cell, and the power used for calls (ac-
tive TS) varies with traffic load (Figure 4).
)%%
When traffic is light, the TCH transceiver
IGM& IGM' IGM( IGM) '%% (TRX) might not have any active timeslots
788=IGM I8=IGM I8=IGM I8=IGM
% %
(calls) at all, in which case only the “digital”
&' ') &' ') and “PA” parts of the transceiver need power
(+]djghd[deZgVi^dc (Figure 4).

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Clearly, networks must be dimensioned
to handle busy hours. But this means a lot
of hardware resources go unused during pe-
riods with little traffic. However, because
functions in the base station controller (BSC)
keep records and statistics of traffic load (ra-
dio traffic levels vary from cell to cell, region
to region, and from operator to operator) and
log information about available hardware re-
sources, why not tap this information to put
unused hardware temporarily into “power-
reduction” mode?

Software and BTS mechanisms


Ericsson’s solution is to monitor the num-
ber of unused timeslots in a cell. When this
figure is sufficiently high (allowing for fluc-
tuations over time) the BTS power-reduction
feature begins packing active timeslots and
disabling idle TCH transceivers (Figure 4).
In essence, the power-savings mode reduc-
es or shuts off power to all but the “digital”
part of the transceiver. When traffic in a cell
increases and the amount of idle timeslots
falls below a given threshold, the idle TRX Figure 5
is immediately put back into service. To Ericsson Tower Tube.
avoid overly aggressive switch-on/switch-off,
a guard time has been applied between the
disabling of TRXs.

Network service quality and results of


power-saving feature
The BTS Power Savings feature has been
developed so as not to affect service qual-
ity. While developing this feature, Ericsson
studied numerous other relevant functions,
such as frequency hopping and packet data
channels. The feature thus supports base- Figure 6
band hopping as well as synthesizer hopping Different architectural designs of the Tower Tube.
cells, albeit in different ways.
By using fictive but relevant data on traffic
variations and adding the known reduction
of hardware power, one can plot total power
distribution over time (Figure 4). For the RBS
configuration in this example, the main reduc-
tion in power consumption is around 20%.

Tower Tube – a new


concept for building sites
The Ericsson Tower Tube – a new concept for
building telecom sites – takes environmental
aspects into account from the start. The chal-
lenge was to create a concept that
• is easy to place and build;
• is easy to run and maintain;
• is cost effective; and
• has minimal impact on the environment.

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BVcj[VXijg^c\ DeZgVi^dc BVcj[VXijg^c\ DeZgVi^dc

BdW^aZiZaZXdb
&#.*W^aa^dchjWhXg^WZgh

;^mZYiZaZXdb
&#'-W^aa^dc[^mZYa^cZh
 &-%b^aa^dc77

E8^cYjhign
-*%b^aa^dcE8h

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YViVXdb
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'.b^aa^dchZgkZgh
Figure 7 '%% &*% &%% *% % '%% &*% &%% *% % % *% &%% &*% '%% % *% &%% &*% '%%
CO2e figures, including uncertainties, for B^aa^dchd[idch8D' '%%* @^ad\gVbhd[8D'eZgVkZgV\ZjhZg
different ICT industry sectors.

Innovative solutions, superior design sign simplifies production and handling, and The reduced impact on the environment comes
The Tower Tube introduces several innova- the use of concrete introduces an element of both from improved use of materials (the de-
tions that challenge conventional ways of flexibility, making way for a variety of shapes, sign, for example, calls for only a tenth of the
building sites. The concrete construction textures and colors (Figure 6). steel used in traditional sites) and improved
fully encapsulates the site providing space operations (where a 40% reduction in power
for all equipment and an indoor climate. The Cost effective, reduced environmental consumption has direct effect). In addition, lo-
entire package of RBSs and antennas is lifted impact cal production minimizes the need for trans-
to the top of the tower via an elevator. To Compared with a traditional tower site, it is portation when deploying the Tower Tubes.
access the equipment for maintenance, tech- faster and easier to deploy the Tower Tube.
nicians can easily climb the lighted, indoor Its footprint is 60% to 75% smaller, and the Potential of BTS Power Savings and
stairs. The first Tower Tube prototype was site solely requires indoor equipment. Fences, Tower Tube to reduce CO2e emissions
dimensioned for three RBSs, but with 18m2 shelter, grounding, cooling and feeder cables The potential of the BTS Power Savings fea-
of floor space, plus more space at the top, it are all included or made obsolete. Moreover, ture to reduce CO2e emissions is significant.
can easily accommodate additional installa- feeder loss is about 3dB lower than that of To date, Ericsson has delivered more than 1
tions. The spacious interior also constitutes a a traditional site. Also, the elimination of million GSM RBSs, and the new BTS Power
safe and convenient working environment. long feeder cables and active cooling reduces Savings feature can be installed in nearly ev-
The Tower Tube sets a new standard in power consumption by up to 40% compared ery such RBS deployed since 1995. If opera-
terms of dimensioning: its thin walls (only with traditional sites. Finally, the need for tors were to install the new software in every
70mm) are constructed using post-tensioned maintenance is minimum: the Tower Tube installed Ericsson GSM RBS, the annual reduc-
steel wires and high-quality concrete. The de- is tion of CO2e emissions would be somewhere
sign also keeps material usage to a minimum • fully encapsulated, which eliminates the between 0.5 and 1 million tons. This figure
(Figure 5). For instance, the Tower Tube uses need for landscaping; and corresponds to the annual emissions of up to
only a tenth of the steel found in traditional • protected by a security door, which elimi- 300,000 petroleum-powered cars (3 tons/car).
tower sites. What is more, the modular de- nates the need for security. The potential of Tower Tube installations
to reduce CO2e emissions is also significant.
Compared to a conventional RBS site, the
Tower Tube directly reduces CO2 emissions
by about 25%. The full potential for opera-
tions at a Tower Tube site is even greater, or
about 40%. To reach this figure, the RBS
TABLE 1, CO2e EMISSIONS AND REVENUE (GDP) OF THE ICT INDUSTRY SECTOR must be designed, and the network opti-
COMPARED WITH OTHER SECTORS mized, to fully capture low feeder losses. Fi-
Global CO2e Revenue (GDP) nally, structures like the Tower Tube have a
ICT 1.2% 7% (0.17) very long lifetime, which adds up to a large
TVs and peripherals 1% 1.7% (0.6) positive impact over time. Given a 20-year
Other entertainment & media (paper) 1% 3% (0.33) lifetime, an LCA of the Tower Tube shows

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that it will reduce CO2 emissions by Conclusion
• nearly 10 tons during manufacturing; and
• between 40 and 80 tons from opera- Ericsson uses LCAs to analyze the environ-
tions (based on two RBS configurations). mental impact of its activities. Ericsson’s
prime focus is on CO2e emissions and energy
Other energy-reduction activities consumption. This is in keeping with recent
Other R&D activities at Ericsson have fur- LCAs of mobile communications, which re-
ther contributed to the reduction of energy veal that energy consumption while manu-
consumption. For example, on average, the facturing and operating mobile commu-
WCDMA RBSs produced in Q4 2006 are nication equipment is the most important
35% more energy-efficient than their coun- environmental parameter.
terparts from 2005. The goal for year-end Several activities at Ericsson during the
2008 is that this figure should be 50%. A past two years have helped reduce the energy
comparison of the 2008 target value with ac- consumption of Ericsson’s product portfo-
tual performance in 2001 reveals an improve- lio. The Tower Tube, for example, is a new
ment in energy efficiency of up to 80%. concept for building telecom sites that, com-
pared with traditional mast sites, reduces en-
vironmental impact, both in terms of energy
CO2 emissions from ICT consumption and material used.
There is an ongoing debate regarding energy Similarly, Ericsson’s new GSM BTS Power
consumption and CO2 emissions associated Savings feature reduces energy consumption
with the information and communications by disabling transmitters during low traffic
technology (ICT) sector and the potential to hours.
use ICT to substitute or reduce the energy The potential of these two examples to re-
consumption and CO2 emissions of other duce CO2e emissions is significant.
sectors. By combining the results obtained Ericsson believes that ICT provides a num-
from several other studies, one can analyze ber of solutions that can be used to substitute
the CO2e emissions of the entire ICT in- physical activities and thereby reduce society’s
dustry sector. These results, presented in energy consumption and CO2e emissions, for
Table 1 and Figure 7, show that the ICT sec- instance through e-commerce, telepresence,
tor was responsible for only about 1.2% of e-health, e-learning and flexi-working.
global CO2e emissions in 2005.

Ericsson Review No. 1, 2008 31

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