The application – GWATT, or Global ‘What if’ Analyser of NeTwork energy consumpTion – was developed by Alcatel-Lucent’s research arm, Bell Labs, and is designed to forecast trends in energy consumption for network operators.
“GWATT is intended to guide future product and architecture evolution by allowing network operators, ICT architects and engineers to have a complete view of the energy impact of the decisions they make regarding what new technologies to introduce into their networks and when,” said Marcus Weldon, corporate CTO at Alcatel-Lucent and Bell Labs president.
“It also can clearly explain which technology investments can have the biggest impact on energy consumption,” he added.
The technology provides the operator with a view of the whole network, showing how much power is consumed at each point, and is expected to dramatically reduce energy consumption, costs and the network’s carbon footprint.
The rapid adoption of smartphones and tablets has put an increased pressure on operator networks and Dr Peter Thomond, managing director at analyst firm Clever Together, said that GWATT was an innovative response to supporting this growth.
“I believe that GWATT offers a breakthrough in helping the ICT and telecoms sectors to understand how different technologies, alone and in combination, will impact the energy consumption of their networks,” Thomond said.
“As demand for broadband services and applications skyrockets, the team at Alcatel-Lucent should feel proud that they have made a meaningful contribution to the toolbox of those fighting to keep energy consumption in check.”
