Vodafone Trials New 5G Antenna Software in Turkey

en.Wedoany.com Reported - Mobile network operator Vodafone has achieved up to 10% energy savings in an "industry first" through a trial combining new software with hardware energy-saving technologies, further reducing energy consumption by 20% with next-generation radio equipment.

The trial uses new radio antennas and advanced engineering, enabling Vodafone to dynamically increase capacity to meet demand, thereby ensuring customers receive uninterrupted fast connections while utilizing network resources more efficiently and reducing unnecessary power consumption. This also means mobile base stations can operate longer when forced to use backup power (e.g., during power outages), enhancing network resilience.

In maximum energy-saving mode, the radio antenna operates at just 10 watts—slightly more than the power consumption of an ordinary LED bulb—and can restore full capacity within approximately 30 seconds. During this process, low and mid-band frequencies continue to provide uninterrupted service. Subsequently, full network capacity is achieved by enabling massive MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) radios on the 3.5GHz band. In fast response mode, the radio operates at 50 watts and can restore full performance in less than 5 seconds, ensuring instant additional network capacity when traffic demand increases.

Marco Zangani, Director of Network Strategy and Architecture at Vodafone, stated that the technology continuously pushes energy efficiency to its limits by shutting down radio units in extremely short periods and restoring them to full operation within seconds, helping the company deliver an excellent mobile experience to customers while saving power and improving resilience in emergency situations.

The trial is currently underway in Turkey. Vodafone plans to continue testing and refining the technology but has not yet specified whether or when commercial deployment will occur. This update does not detail the specific technical aspects, with the overall description similar to measures already introduced by other mobile operators in the UK.