BRINGING M2M + AI INTO HF & U/VHF SECTOR ACROSS EAST AFRICA

I have been working on a system that had me travel both in some parts of north coast and back again in eastern parts of Kenya. Long distance Beyond Line of Site (BLOS) radio channels have taught me that they are subjected to high levels of distortion and interference. The project involved learning and

collecting lots of data and is universally known, data applications often require reliable communications to assure that data is delivered if possible and to notify the sender if delivery is not possible. The first challenge I encountered was in my mother country, VHF spectrum is yet to be harmonized (I welcome any different opinion on this from CAK) for M2M applications. I however think access to VHF frequencies could help stimulate the right environment for innovation both in my country and across the East African region.

This impede made me revert to using one of the many MVA techniques and some bands which could use IoT services and M2M applications to enable reliable end-to-end data communication over HF and V/UHF radio. I also used IE on the other hand to effectively track data transferred between the five radio stations I was working on. The receiving station finally acknowledged all successfully received packets and requested the sender to repeat lost packets.

I first had to design my solution to be used in conjunction with RapidM high performance HF and V/UHF data modems. The automatic Data Rate Change (DRC) algorithm continuously assesses and adjust the modem data rate to optimize throughput in the current channel conditions. There is still a lot I need to do to have it run independently to support services and applications being engineered almost daily. With these covid19 restrictions, I suppose ill have all the time to delve deeper into more research and consult with my senior engineers for a final commercial solution in coming months.

IE and MVA can be integrated with a customer’s or system integrator’s own computer software. At the present moment, my solution is available for Windows and Linux to the mobile radio channel partners we have within the region and is suitable for strategic, military, naval and industrial applications requiring reliable data transfer via HF or V/UHF radio.

The solution offers the following application specific interface clients in addition to what the client’s software offers:

·         IP Data IP Client

·         HF Wireless Token Ring Protocol (WTRP)

Integration with existing management systems is simple using the status and statistics monitoring via the XML/TCP/IP interface. As I await AK and the ministry of IT to revise these evolving technologies, I wish to have achieved a better solution that what I currently have; a flexible, simple to apply for, relatively in-expensive solution that will be best suited to work with a wide range of narrow band, low data rate IoT services and M2M applications.

 

                                                                                                               Author:Samwel Kariuki

                                                                                                                     date:24th July 2020

USING RASPBERRY Pi on MOTOROLA RADIOS

For many years hams have been using Motorola commercial radios modified for amateur radio use. Since the commercial changeover to narrow-b

and some years ago a great deal of the now unusable commercial equipment is now available to the amateur community with Africa(specifically east and central Africa ). One of the sticking points of using these radios has been the programming which required access to the software and more importantly a computer and hardware that was able to do it. It was widely accepted that you would need an old slow computer with a dedicated ser

ial port to do this and trying anything else either did not work or was very finicky. Most would either not have the software or proper hardware. Because of this,i have tried to implemented a novel approach that should work consistently using a Raspberry Pi for all my east and central africa people, the hamvoip software, and a couple of inexpensive cables. This works on the hamvoip Archlinux installation and can be used in conjunction with a running Allstar system in fact I have used a node on the same server while I was programming without any problems. This also could add the ability to program a radio at a remote site without being there.

The ham voip programming package uses dosbox a program t

o simulate MSDOS. The Raspberry Pi is an excellent platform to do this as it is readily available and provides a consistent environment to run the code. Because it was not desirable to install the entire graphics package in the hamvoip installation, which would be necessary to run DOSBOX directly on the Pi, we instead do X11 forwarding to an X11 server where the program is displayed. The Motorola programming packages run under this MSDOS environment. All timings and configurations have been preset and so far have worked with all tested radios. Be aware that this uses a supplied custom compiled dosbox which works with the FTDI controller to supply the required custom baudrates that the Motorola radios require.

You could remotely program a radio at a distant site using these methods.Some users may want to use a dedicated non-Allstar Pi to do the programming. It is cheap enough to dedicate another Pi. You can disable the loading of Allstar by commenting the “/usr/local/etc/rc.allstar” line in /etc/rc.local. Putting a # at the beginning of this line comments it. In addition you can disable the Admin menu by commenting the “exec /usr/local/sbin/admin.sh” line in /root/.bash_profile. It is the last line in the file. Reboot after making these changes. When you login to your programming Pi you will now go directly to the Linux prompt where you can type “dosbox”

The application works equally well on a Pi2 although noticeably slower. A good use for your old Pi2’s.

Felt like sharing to uplift the lives of my people as we strive day in day out to make our EMEA region better……The next tech revolution is coming from my mother continent.

Author:Samwel Kariuki

14th Nov 2019

Enabling Kenya’s Clean Energy Drive

Building information modeling needs to support Kenya’s ambitious clean energy development plans to position the nation as a leading global player in major energy infrastructure projects across Africa.

Kenya’s energy sector is undergoing a radical transformation driven by policies engendered by the country’s vision 2030 and the big 4 agendas at hand. Although we are still in our nascent stages in

renewable energy installations, Kenya is accelerating its shift to more efficient and less polluting power technologies, such as nuclear hopefully by 2024. This domestic transition is also underway with a view to export markets for energy technology, as we aim to stamp our authority on the global energy sector.

Drive for Efficiency, Reliability, and Stability

Giant hydro projects like the gitaru, kindaruma and kiambere are relatively well known even outside of Kenya, but to deliver that nationalmandate; we need to see many renewable energy projects being built. Now, projects are also increasingly being focused on expanding Kenya’s clean energy capacity by enabling other types of low-emission energy production. One key technology that can support variable output renewables like wind and solar is pumped storage hydropower. Pumped storage forms a major plank of Kenya’s future energy complex because it is able to respond to variations in supply and demand in just a few seconds.

Demands for Efficient Design

Large infrastructure projects and the growing complexity of modern, more distributed, and variable energy networks is evidently placing increasing demands  on us the designers and developers of energy infrastructure.  Building information modeling (BIM) is a relatively new concept to the energy industry here in Kenya that can make a dramatic impact on such developments. BIM methodology is an intelligent model-based process that integrates all relevant information required for planning, design, construction, and operation.

Efficiency is an important aspect in the industry, with Kenyan power producers looking for ways to cut costs. Using a BIM approach will cut down capital costs as well as reduce design and construction times, helping these Kenyan power producers meet their goals. While major engineering projects like large hydropower installations can benefit from BIM, more distributed renewable energy generation projects can also take advantage of the benefits it offers. And, although increasing power demand will see far more thermal capacity built in Kenya over the coming decade, efficiency and specific outputs ofemissions like NOx and SOx per unit of energy produced will likely improve through the deployment of combined heat and power (CHP) and technologies such as supercritical and ultra-supercritical steam condition power plants. While modern thermal plants are incredibly efficient and much cleaner than their predecessors, combined heat and power applications are the most energy efficient and therefore produce the maximum usable energy for each kilogramme of pollution emitted. As Kenyan engineers, there needs to bring real effort in boosting the use of CHP energy technologies as a result.

**Find attached 2017-2037 Kenya’s Power Development Plans.**

Kenya's Disruptive Technologies Revolution

The noise about the next big thing can make it difficult to identify which technologies truly matter. I will attempt to sort through the many claims to identify the technologies that have the greatest potential to drive substantial economic impact and disruption before or by 2030(our country’s vision set plan). Important technologies can come in any field or emerge from any scientific discipline, but   initiative by his ministry and hope to see such moves in several other ministries and NGOs as well.Therefore, as a country,we need to focus on technologies that we believe will have significant potential to drive economic impact and disruption by 2030.

they share four characteristics: high rate of technology change, broad potential scope of impact, large economic value that could be affected, and substantial potential for disruptive economic impact. Many technologies have the potential to meet these criteria eventually, but our leaders(CS Mr.Mucheru of ICT) needs to focus on technologies with potential impact that is near enough at hand to be meaningfully anticipated and prepared for. I already love the white-box launch

What Safaricom has done in enhancing mobile Internet, for example, has affected more than 16 million Kenyans going about their lives, giving them tools to become potential innovators or entrepreneurs— making the mobile Internet one our most impactful technologies. I personally an a beneficiary of their noble initiative to nature and grow talent within STEM.My focus for now is profoundly learn the Internet of Things technology which will connect and embed intelligence in billions of objects and devices all around the world not Kenya alone, affecting the health, safety, and productivity of billions of people.I want to be part of the few folks who will go down the history books of STEM in Africa that shaped the path of the four disciplines and made life of the coming generation better from our engineered solutions.

Here is what I sorted out as the buzz in-things for Tech evangelist, engineering gurus and STEM lovers which will definitely shape our country in the next few years and propel the big 4 agenda to realization.

1. Mobile Internet Increasingly inexpensive and capable mobile computing devices and Internet connectivity

2. Automation of knowledge work intelligent software systems that can perform knowledge work tasks involving unstructured commands and subtle judgments

3. The Internet of Things Networks of low-cost sensors and actuators for data collection, monitoring, decision making, and process optimization

4. Cloud technology Use of computer hardware and software resources delivered over a network or the Internet, often as a service

5. Advanced robotics increasingly capable robots with enhanced senses, dexterity, and intelligence used to automate tasks or augment humans

6. Autonomous and near-autonomous vehicles Vehicles that can navigate and operate with reduced or no human intervention

7. Next-generation genomics Fast, low-cost gene sequencing, advanced big data analytics, and synthetic biology (“writing” DNA)

8. Energy storage Devices or systems that store energy for later use, including batteries

9.3D printing Additive manufacturing techniques to create objects by printing layers of material based on digital models

10. Advanced materials Materials designed to have superior characteristics (e.g., strength, weight, conductivity) or functionality

11. Advanced oil and gas exploration and recovery Exploration and recovery techniques that make extraction of unconventional oil and gas economical

12. Renewable energy Generation of electricity from renewable sources with reduced harmful climate impact

The technologies on my list have great potential to improve the lives of billions of people, starting with our 45 million plus population. Cloud computing and the mobile Internet, for example, could raise productivity and quality in education, health care, and public services. At the same time, some of these technologies could bring unwanted side effects. The benefits of the mobile Internet and cloud computing are accompanied by rising risks of security and privacy breaches. Our 12^th parliament ought to sit more frequently and speed up the data protection bill, the computer misuse and cybercrime bill and improve our information and communication act. Objects and machines under the control of computers across the Web (the Internet of Things) can also be hacked, exposing factories, refineries, supply chains, power plants, and transportation networks to new risks

In considering the disruptive potential of these technologies, I foresee that each could drive profound changes across many dimensions—in the lives of Kenyan citizens, in business, and across the global economy. As noted from key speeches from our president Mr.Kenyatta and his deputy Mr.Ruto, the future seems bright for entrepreneurs and innovators. 3D printing, the mobile Internet, cloud technology, and even next-generation genomics could provide the opportunities and the tools to allow small enterprises to compete on a meaningful scale and advance into new markets rapidly.Almost every technology on my list could change the game for businesses, creating entirely new products and services, as well as shifting pools of value between producers or from producers to consumers. Some, like automation of knowledge work and the mobile Internet, could also change how companies and other organizations structure themselves, bringing new meaning to the anytime/ anywhere work style. With automation of knowledge work tasks, organizations that can augment the powers of skilled workers stand to do well.

As these disruptive technologies continue to evolve and play out, it will be up to business leaders, entrepreneurs, policy makers, and citizens to maximize their opportunities while dealing with the challenges.Lets make our mother country great and change the face of Africa!

 Compiled & Authored by: Samwel Kariuki

REMEDIES FOR KENYAN UPCOMING SERIAL ENTERPRENUERS

The modern business environment is now becoming more complex. Just think about the myriad of new ideas, techniques, strategies, methods, and technological innovations to grow your business! Without applying them to your entrepreneurial endeavor, there’s a high probability that you’ll get left behind the competition.

Since technology plays a significant role in entrepreneurship nowadays, entrepreneurs need to pick up tech skills to make their business successful. But what are those tech skills entrepreneurs should acquire? Here’s a list to answer that question.

Cloud Computing

Knowledge about cloud computing is crucial because all the data that you have will be going to end up at The Cloud one way or another. Learning the ways how Dropbox, Salesforce, and Google Drive work is the necessary steps that you should take in this case.

If you know how the cloud works, you’ll now be able to discover new models for your business, enhance the security of your business, work with your colleagues more efficiently, and stay competitive.

Understanding Big Data

When you talk about data, you can’t just leave big data out of the discussion. Big data is one of the main focuses today in social media exchange and digital process. In fact, tech experts say that big data will get even bigger in the mainstream, especially in doing business.

Knowledge in big data will enable you to define consumer preferences more clearly and create more informed entrepreneurial decisions. In other words, utilizing big data is a boon to your business.

If you want to acquire knowledge about how big data works, you can enroll yourself in online courses that will teach you everything about big data from the basics to complex programming.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

It’s rare to find a business today that doesn’t have a website that tells about its brand and to promote its products and services. If you have a business website, mastering search engine optimization or SEO is essential for your site to rank up in Google Search.

Knowing the basics of SEO is crucial to market your brand on the internet. Stay away from the mindset that search engine algorithms are so advanced to enable users to find your business easily online because that’s not the case. You still need to reach out to online users, and that means that you should optimize your site’s SEO to get to them.

Excelling at Microsoft Excel

Entrepreneurs should learn how to use Microsoft Excel because it can be a big help to their business. Many will ask if Microsoft Excel is still relevant today? Well, the answer is yes. Excel is still a valuable tool to organize and manage your business finances, and it now has new features to keep up with the various financial software of today.

For instance, Microsoft Excel allows you to keep track of your business spending, create a solid pitch to investors, and understand your target market.

Being Good at Email Marketing

If you want to find ways to close up a deal for your business, you should try and be good at email marketing. Many entrepreneurs use this form of marketing today because email marketing is also an effective way to reach a broader target audience.

Email marketing also does the work of delivering your brand message more efficiently. Due to this effect, email marketing can drive conversions in the form of leads and sales. Not only that, using email to market your brand is excellent because it’s an open platform that allows you to communicate and engage with your potential customers.

Takeaway

Due to the tough business competition today, it’s a must that you hone your tech skills to keep up with the competition. Technology can be a big help in many aspects of doing business. 
For instance, it can help you with the marketing, improving security, and achieving international standards such as ISO. Sites like 9001simplified.com/will help you how to use technology for that purpose.

INTERNET OF ENERGY IN KENYA

The Internet of Energy

The Internet of Energy (IoE) can be broadly defined as the upgrading and automating of electricity infrastructures, making energy production more clean and efficient, and putting more power in the hands of the consumer.

My blog today will discusses how to apply ML analytics in the utilities industry to create the IoE.I personally choose to see IoE as one system where data in Kenya will be shared and analyzed, producing targeted, efficient results to utilities and consumers across our country.

The first major utility sector is Generation, which relies heavily on the work of turbines. Turbines, whether they be fueled by natural gas,steam, nuclear, or coal, are massive engineering marvels from a mechanical standpoint. There are thousands of moving parts with extreme tolerances, and minute disturbances in the system can lead to major problems, causing downtime, loss of power, safety concerns, and more.

In our country, many grids are plagued with unreliable service. This is primarily because of aging equipment; poor maintenance; and in many cases, the struggle to upgrade power systems to keep up with very high annual demand growth rates. Investment in IoT for both existing and new equipment has the potential to significantly reduce unscheduled downtime by identifying problems before they occur, thereby improving reliability and reducing costs. Other applications of IoT are optimal use of generation assets to increase the efficiency of production. In conventional power plants, IoT would be used to tune the operation of a power plant in real time and to balance production with life cycle cost of maintenance and life of equipment. As an example, GE is about to launch a digital power plant systems for coal plant in Lamu. GE claims its digital technologies when applied to new coal and gas fired power plants will increase fuel efficiency by 3%, power output by 2%, and reduce unplanned downtime by 5%, operation and maintenance costs by 25%, and fuel consumption during starts by 20%.6 In Kenya, these strategies may be used to reduce cost of electricity production and emissions. Another good example of IoT use for optimization of operations is in the wind power industry where (i) wake losses are reduced in a wind farm by adjusting pitch and yaw angles of individual turbines, (ii) turbines production is increased above rated value in a controlled manner as long as the stress and fatigue loading are within acceptable limit, and (iii) settings of individual turbines are optimized to local conditions to increase output. GE claims a 5% to 10% increase in annual energy production with these strategies.7 A futuristic application of IoT is a holistic optimization of the entire power network with the goal of decentralization and defossilization of the power sector. IoT has the potential to achieve such a transformation in which (i) renewable energy is generated close to load centers; (ii) energy storage devices are used to store excess energy and deliver energy during periods of high demand; (iii) demand response is used to balance supply and demand; (iv) flexible centralized fossil fuel-based power plants plan production based on real-time predictions of variable renewable generators; and (v) dispatch logic, and controllers are used to manage the flow of power. Several of these transformations are being tested in a number of pilots in our beloved country with the goal of achieving close to 100% renewable energy in the power sector and IoT will be a key enabler.

Happy Madaraka holidays!

Complied by: Samwel Kariuki

USING AI,IoT FOR KENYA'S ENERGY SUSTAINABILITY

Early this year there was a symposium titled “AI/IoT-realized Super Smart Society and Energy Network” and was sponsored by the International Research Center of Advanced Energy Systems for Sustainability (AES Center), Institute of Innovative Research, Tokyo Institute of Technology, the symposium dealt with how artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things and other advanced information technologies would transform society and the energy world and what business chances and challenges would emerge, as indicated by the title.

The symposium consisted of three parts – Part 1 “National Strategy and Outlook on Super

Smart Society,” Part 2 “Super Smart Society and Energy Technologies Seen from Academia,” and Part 3 “Panel Discussion – Social Implementation Led by the Private Sector.” 

What is the “super smart society?” This is an interesting question. In Part 1, it was argued that human society historically transitioned from a hunter society to a farmer society, an industrial society and an information society, or from Society 1.0 to Societies 2.0, 3.0 and 4.0, before a new economic society comes as Society 5.0 or super smart society. The new society was explained as a society in which AI, big data, IoT and other advanced technologies would be fully used to achieve both economic development and the resolution of social challenges facing the world. The super smart society was also described as a society in which AI, big data and dramatically advanced information technologies (electronics, communications and data processing) would be fully used to

integrate cyberspace with physical space to produce new values.

An important challenge in energy and environment areas in our country and the whole Continent at large would be to build a low-carbon society and very efficient energy supply systems using renewable energy, storage batteries, hydrogen,advanced next-generation vehicles, distributed energy systems, demand response systems, virtual power plants and other technologies. AI, big data, IoT and other advanced technologies would be fully used to digitize and expand the energy world in the new economic society. As a matter of course, the super smart society and energy’s expected roles in such a society represent long-term strategic challenges, with any specific path to such society remaining uncertain(we have a tendency of assuming things until they turn out to be a necessity in our day to day lives). There may be numerous problems to be resolved for realizing the new society.

Nevertheless, initiatives to overview social transition and transformation from a broader perspective and depict and pursue the future society we should build are very significant and valuable. We will have to closely watch future initiatives to realize the super smart society and energy’s roles in such society. Based on matters of interest to me and my expertise, I strongly believe the Kenyan super smart society would be digitized and electrified, energy security (particularly, power supply security) would be the key to realizing and managing most of the activities. I have noted three points on new risks that we as Kenyan engineers would have to consider in regard to energy and power supply security while digitization and electrification would make irreversible progress.

The first point is the impact that the substantial expansion of renewable energy including intermittent solar photovoltaics and wind power generation would exert on power supply systems.

Storage batteries, grid enhancement measures, auxiliary fossil power generation and other measures are required to cover the intermittency of solar PV and wind power generation. This means additional costs. While solar PV and wind power generation costs are remarkably declining, the additional costs are required for integrating such intermittent renewable energy into power supply systems and may not necessarily be negligible. As intermittent power sources’ share of the power mix expands further, the costs for integrating these sources into power supply systems will grow. Power supply security and the integration costs could be challenges.

The second point is related to cybersecurity since am a member of KCSFA (kenya Cyber Security and Forensic Association) and i follow closely our own internal debates and discussions. As social and economic systems grow more dependent on stable power supply due to further digitization and electrification, they are likely to become more vulnerable to cyber attacks. As cybersecurity problems are growing more complex in our country, diverse and serious, cybersecurity measures must be updated in response to the fast-changing situation. So far, cyber problems have not become as serious as the oil crises that globally shook energy and power supply. As stable power supply becomes the most important challenge in the digitized society, however, we should recognize

cybersecurity problems as a major potential risk. The third point is a stable power supply problem related to investment in deregulated markets.In Kenya, power and gas system reform will need to be implemented to deregulate markets more and more

through the beginning of the 2020s(Lets stop thinking only politics in 2022). In globally known cases, there are many cases where investment costs in power sources has failed to be recovered in deregulated power markets, leading to the so-called “missing money problem”. The classic “missing money problem” has transitioned to a more complex problem as wholesale power market prices have declined due to the large scale inflow of renewable energy power generation promoted by policy support and cost reduction. In response, the introduction of the capacity mechanism is being considered or implemented. In the digitized and electrified society, how to secure investment and stable power supply in liberalized markets with renewable energy expansion trends may be a key challenge.

 

While great expectations are placed on the realization of the super smart society, or Society 5.0(as i would love to call it),there are many challenges to tackle in the energy world in our continent. In the new economic society in which advanced technologies are fully used, energy is likely to take an even more important position instead of staying at its present level of importance. Energy security will thus remain an old and new issue.

 

 

                                                                            Complied and written by : Samwel Kariuki

ENERGY EFFICIENCY REVIEW WITHIN OUR KENYAN TELCOS.

It is a worldwide goal to reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions. The EU has targeted a reduction of 20% for year 2020 and just the other week we saw an MoU between Safaricom and UN signed championing for SDGs set.. A part of this energy reduction scheme concerns the    telecommunication industry and ICT that participates in a direct, indirect and systematic way.  Characteristic  examples which are yet to be in full use or are at nascent stages in our country  are  green networks,   smart   buildings,   smart   grids,   Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), energy efficient electronics (OLEDS, photonics, nanotechnology) and the application of  embedded  systems  towards  low  carbon  and  energy efficient technologies .

Telecommunication networks constitute a major sector of ICT and they undergo a tremendous growth. Capacity issues and delivery of complex real time services are some of the main concerns that yield high power consumption patterns. In our increasingly competitive mobile telecommunication sector, operators are turning to emerging markets for their next step growth situation that increases the number of subscribers and required base station equipment-case examples include safaricom now on 4G+ while Telkom is rolling our 4G across its country’s network footprint. This creates the need for equipment installation to areas where off grid renewable energy solutions are required and energy efficient networks are important e.g. Northern parts of Kenya. In addition, the increase of fuel and electricity costs bounds the OPEX of the system.

Telecommunication networks and broadband access are proved to consume a huge amount of energy for data delivery.  In general, the telecommunication   sector accounts for approximately 4% of the global electricity consumption (I researched widely from ITU web links).  I personally believe that  reduction  of  CO2   emissions  can  be accomplished  by  focusing  on  innovative telecommunication services like online taxation, video conference,   online   billing   that   can   enable   a   green economy. The goal is to deploy telecommunication networks enabling power efficiency, yielding a small ratio of required Watts per Gbps and Watts per user. Green initiatives have already been commenced by different operators around developed countries.

 This summarized word press discusses and proposes various energy efficient techniques for the green operation of telecommunication networks. Cellular networks that suffer most of the power waste nowadays are what I will highlight briefly. It is observed that almost 50% (including the operation of servers) is due to the operation of telecommunication networks. These can be mobile networks, WLANs, LANs and fixed line networks. As  far  as  the  overall network  performance  is  concerned  the  energy consumption is higher at the access part of the network and the operation of data centers that provides computations, storage, applications and data transfer in a network. On the other hand, backbone and aggregation networks present lower energy demands. This makes clear that an energy efficient architecture should focus on intelligent and efficient access techniques and efficient operation and data manipulation by data centers. The main functionalities of a network can be summarized as the process of regeneration, transportation, storage, routing, switching and processing of data. The power consumption patterns of these processes can be observed that the largest part of energy is consumed for routing/switching, regeneration and processing of data. Both communication protocols and electronic devices are responsible for this consumption and this imposes challenges for more sophisticated transport techniques, thermal removal from switches or the servers and less redundant data transfers.

 For mobile networks, a crucial factor affecting network power consumption is the site operation that incorporates base station equipments. . It is obvious that the greatest portion of energy is consumed for cooling of equipments and base station operation. Monitor operation and lighting requires the minimum of energy whereas for the backhaul energy consumption the picture is not clear and depends on the type of connections of the backhaul network (fiber or cable).  Within the base stations, high power demands are due to feeders (transmission of radio waves), the RF conversion units and power amplifiers, signal processing units and various electronic   equipments   such   as   air   conditioners   and auxiliary equipments.

 The power consumption within a base station exhibits important similarities with data centers. The available power from the electricity grid, the battery backup unit or the renewable energy (RES) enters the base station and is divided into an in-series path and an in-parallel path. Non- critical equipments support the operation of the IT equipments that are divided into radio units and baseband units. The most energy consuming devices of base stations are the cooling infrastructure, power amplifiers, RF feeders and the AC/DC and DC/DC conversion units. Depending on the number of sectors, nSC, and the antenna number, nTX, of the base station, the total power consumption is computed as follows;

 

In the above formula an additional factor models the power consumption due to RF links of the base station. For macrocell and microcell base stations, empirical formulae can describe the relationship between the power delivered to the antenna relative to the consumed power of the base station [13]. For macrocell stations the power consumption is almost independent of the input load (traffic) whereas for microcells, power consumption is highly dependent on the input load.

Making a network to operate in a green manner is a complex task. Sometimes, optimizing energy consumption in one part of the network can increase power consumption and degrade the performance of another part of the network. In general, total network optimization is better than the sum of optimizations of individual parts. A network to work in an energy efficient way is not only a matter of environmental protection through signing of memorandums but also a crucial factor for the deployment of future networks to off grid areas that rely on Renewable Energy Sources (RES) or personal and sensor networks that rely on battery power supply. Minimizing power consumption has also a great effect on the cost of operation of a network and this makes it more affordable to the user. Network energy efficiency can be considered as a very complex task since there is no clear solution to the problem. The sectors of the network that require the greatest attention are the electronic equipments of both end user and the access network, thermal removal processes, efficient network planning and base station design.

                                                                                               Compiled and written by: Samwel Kariuki