Energy Efficient Wireless Internet Access

In this talk we discuss the energy savings that can be obtained with the energy-aware cooperative management of the cellular access networks of the operators that offer service over the same area. We show that a huge amount of energy can be saved by using all networks in high traffic conditions, but progressively switching off networks during the periods when traffic decreases, and eventually becomes so low that the desired quality of service can be obtained with just one network. When a network is switched off, its customers are allowed to roam over those that remain powered on. Several alternatives are studied, as regards the traffic profile, the switch-off pattern, the energy cost model, and the roaming policy.