Stochastic analysis of energy savings with sleep mode in OFDMA wireless networks

International audienceThe issue of energy efficiency (EE) in Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) wireless networks is discussed in this paper. Our interest is focused on the promising concept of base station (BS) sleep mode, introduced recently as a key feature in order to dramatically reduce network energy consumption. The proposed technical approach fully exploits the properties of stochastic geometry, where the number of active cells is reduced in a way that the outage probability, or equivalently the signal to interference plus noise (SINR) distribution, remains the same. The optimal EE gains are then specified with the help of a simplified but yet realistic BS power consumption model. Furthermore, the authors extend their initial work by studying a non-singular path loss model in order to verify the validity of the analysis and finally, the impact on the achieved user capacity is investigated. In this context, the significant contribution of this paper is the evaluation of the theoretically optimal energy savings of sleep mode, with respect to the decisive role that the BS power profile plays