Green Heterogeneous Wireless Networks

Chapter 1Green Network Fundamentals

Efficient energy usage in wireless networks has drawn significant attention from both academia and industry, mainly because of critical environmental, financial, and quality-of-experience (QoE) concerns. Research efforts have led to various solutions that allow efficient use of energy in wireless networks. Such approaches are referred to as green wireless communication and networking. Throughout this book, our main focus is on developing energy-efficient communication techniques in base stations (BSs) and mobile terminals (MTs), as they represent the major sources of energy consumption in wireless access networks, from the operator and user perspectives, respectively, while accounting for the heterogeneous nature of the wireless communication medium. Towards this end, the first two chapters of the first part of this book are dedicated to introducing the background concepts of green networking. The first chapter discusses the need for green (energy-efficient) communications, the modelling techniques used for energy efficiency and call traffic in wireless networks, and different conflicting performance metrics. Building on such a background, the second chapter reviews the state-of-the-art green communication solutions and analytical models proposed for network operators and mobile users at different traffic load conditions, and points out their major shortcomings.

1.1 Introduction: Need for Green Networks

In response to the increasing demand ...