Intelligent network management secures critical communications infrastructure through improved energy optimization and power distribution.
albis-elcon is supplying technology and systems as a project partner in an international alliance to strengthen the resilience of telecommunications networks, in particular 5G mobile networks and future 6G networks, through intelligent management. This ensures the availability of infrastructure services for as long as possible in the event of a blackout.
In current 5G mobile networks, network availability in the event of a blackout due to cyberattacks or network failure is around half an hour. For this time, the energy supply is secured by batteries and emergency power generators. A large proportion of the radio cells that are important for the infrastructure have limited battery capacity.
In the project, intelligent network management is used to adapt the network behavior in an energy-oriented manner for services to maintain the critical infrastructure and essential communications in such a way that the duration of availability can be multiplied.
In addition, batteries equipped with digital identities and formerly used in electromobility, will be deployed in the infrastructure and integrated into the network management. This increases traceable security and reuse of raw materials. Remote energy distribution systems are also used to distribute existing energy on the grid to balance consumption and maintain operations.
The project, called “White Amber,” is taking place under the leadership and organization of the MEF – a global industry association of network, cloud, and technology providers. The goal is to accelerate and secure digital transformation with a more aligned ecosystem and expansion of the utility architecture. “Intelligent energy and battery management can ensure that critical network functions continue to be available in the long term in the event of a blackout. For example, emergency calls can be prioritized and government communications maintained,” says Philipp Neuber, responsible for international technology alliances. “Companies need to be able to continue critical business processes. These include, for example, banking, online transactions, as well as emergency call and response communications.”
Within the UET Group, the project is being implemented by albis-elcon. For more than two decades, albis-elcon performs research and development for energy distribution in telecommunication networks and maintains a broad product portfolio that is in used in many countries for power distribution and network management for broadband infrastructure.
In the past, network operators around the world have repeatedly had to contend with outages that have resulted in lost revenue, lost data and customer churn. 5G and future 6G networks are considered critical infrastructures that require 100% availability and energy efficiency at the same time. Mobile network providers need, on the one hand, an energy-efficient infrastructure for lower energy consumption and, on the other hand, secure and dynamic network management in the event of power outages. Under the MEF umbrella, albis-elcon is making a sustainable contribution to this. The first demonstration with industrial partners is scheduled to take place as early as April. The final tests of the project will be carried out in October 2023. Other participants in the project are the international network operator Sparkle and the industry association MOBI.
The initiative has the potential to revolutionize the energy infrastructure of mobile and fixed networks and accelerate the transition to more secure and efficient energy use and increase the resilience, at the same time. This creates new market opportunities and growth potential.
The international project will develop key results that can be used by mobile network operators worldwide.