Huawei PowerStar is an AI-based, multi-RAT and multi-band network-level energy saving solution for legacy wireless network. This solution does not require a hardware replacement or upgrade and will not cause the network KPI deterioration. Facing 5G networks in the future, it will save even more power. Huawei PowerStar solution helps multiple operators save energy for wireless network. In South Africa, it reduces the average power consumption of a base station by more than 11.6%, and saves 6 kWh power per day for each site. At AfricaCom 2018 in Cape Town, Huawei PowerStar solution won the “Most Innovative use of AI Technology” award for its contribution to energy saving and emission reduction in wireless networks with AI technology for South Africa.

Network energy saving and emission reduction has become a hot topic around the world. According to statistics, the average power expense accounts for 20% of the operator’s network operating expense in the world. In the 5G era, operators face the coexistence of more frequency bands and more RATs. The increasingly complex network brings increasing power consumption. However, traditional energy-saving solutions are inefficient, insufficient, and unreliable. In the complex heterogeneous network, there are millions of combinations of site types, traffic conditions, and parameter configurations. The traditional energy-saving solutions cannot meet energy saving requirements in these scenarios.

Huawei PowerStar energy-saving solution uses innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence and precise traffic forecast based on spatial-temporal data to implement coordination and energy saving on the multi-band multi-RAT network, realizing the in-depth energy saving for mobile networks, and the key technologies of the solution are as follows:

Precise traffic forecast based on spatial-temporal data and AI maximizes cell sleep duration. By interconnecting with the spatial-temporal data platform, the system can track changes in people flow, traffic and weather, improve the precision of the traffic forecast, accurately match traffic fluctuation, and use forecast results to disable idle cell resources.

Network-level strategy enables intra-site and inter-site cell coordination energy saving. Using network configuration and UE data, PowerStar analyzes the co-coverage relation among heterogeneous network elements automatically, predicts which cell could be powered off due to low traffic demand, and generates energy-saving recommendations for each site.

Through AI, “one energy saving policy for one site” ensures lossless KPIs in heterogeneous network. Using AI, PowerStar can select the best parameter combination with no impact on KPIs to achieve the optimal energy saving effects on the entire network. 90% manual labor required for energy saving management can be saved in this way. And the energy supply and equipment could work together to maximize the energy saving effects of the entire site. In addition, the PowerStar visualizes energy saving effects by enabling operators to view the dynamic information about base station power consumption, network energy efficiency, and energy saving gains.

Huawei PowerStar energy-saving solution has been verified and delivered in multiple countries such as China, South Africa, Morocco, etc. In MBBF 2018, Ryan Ding, Huawei Executive Director of the Board, President of Carrier Business Group, released the success story of energy saving with the AI based PowerStar solution. The president of Huawei Wireless Product Line, Edward Deng expounded the principle of “Bit Drive Watt” in the energy-saving solution. According to the trial in the commercial network, it is estimated that a typical network with 1000 sites can save 1.46 million kWh power per year with PowerStar, which is equivalent to a reduction of 1.37 kiloton carbon emission per year. Based on million sites in the world, it is estimated that 8.7 billion kWh power can be saved for carriers. Together with operators, Huawei is deeply committed to contributing to industry standards for energy saving, continuing to make technological innovation, fulfilling the social responsibility of energy saving and emission reduction, and helping operators reduce OPEX to achieve win-win business.