Ericsson demos energy aware optical transport at Broadband World Forum

Ericsson demonstrates first adaptive power technology for optical transport
Saves on energy costs and reduces carbon dioxide emissions while maintaining Quality of Service (QoS)
Can also be implemented with other technologies, including microwave transport
Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) demonstrates the first adaptive power management technology for optical transport at Broadband World Forum in Amsterdam. The technology has the potential to save on energy use and carbon footprint, without affecting Quality of Service (QoS).

The Energy Aware Smart Packet Optical (SPO) 1400 exhibition runs from October 16 through 18 and shows how power management modes can be applied using traffic load measurement and prediction, slowing down or shutting down unnecessary resources.

The idea is similar to the throttle that allows cars to dynamically change performance based on driver needs, adapting energy consumption to the work effectively done. Currently, telecom equipment always runs at full throttle, even though traffic levels vary over the course of the day and week.

In the demonstration an Energy Aware prototype SPO 1400 modulates energy consumption based on traffic requirements. It changes consumption based on actual usage while maintaining network performance based on the bandwidth required.

This dynamic power management results in measurable energy savings. For example, a small, regional network might require a minimum of 100 SPO nodes. Using energy efficient dynamic nodes could potentially reduce yearly energy costs by EUR 300,000 and result in carbon dioxide emission reductions equivalent to removing 7,000 cars from the road.

While the concept is demonstrated on optical transport, the principle is applicable to many other products and can be implemented with other technologies, including microwave transport.

The exhibition at BBWF is open to all professionals; free tickets can be obtained online at http://www.broadbandworldforum.com/. Dedicated demonstrations are also available.