Bharti Airtel lined up key network equipment supplier Nokia to support its efforts to improve the energy efficiency of its 4G and 5G RAN infrastructure in India by deploying technologies which conserve power and optimise energy management.

Randeep Sekhon, Airtel CEO, stated the tie-up targeted substantial energy savings which would enable a significant reduction in the operator’s carbon footprint.

The move will “further our environmental objectives”, the CEO said.

Airtel aims to increase energy efficiency during peak and off-peak hours and expects to cut an estimated 143,413 metric tonnes in carbon emissions annually.

The partnership involves combining Nokia’s advanced energy-saving features with Airtel’s AI and machine learning algorithms to lower the radio network’s power consumption to very low watts during periods of no traffic.

Airtel also intends to deploy Nokia’s ReefShark SoC to boost energy efficiency by matching internal resources to actual processing needs, and optimise power consumption based on traffic load, with an estimated 15 per cent reduction in energy usage.

The pair trialled advanced digital design tools to improve cell configuration for lower transmitted power. 

Airtel stated it deployed solar-powered systems at about 25,000 sites and increased the renewable energy usage at its data centres by sourcing 220,541MWh of green power in the fiscal year ending 31 March.