Can a remote base station power supply be uninterrupted?

By Zhang Hongguan & Zhang Yufeng Uninterrupted power supply for remote base stations has been a challenge since the founding of the wireless industry, but alternative sources have a chance of succeeding where traditional solutions have failed.

What are the primary sources of power for a mobile base-station?

The primary sources of power for these mobile base-station vary by region and can generally be categorized into 3 buckets: Reliable grid power: AC mains or grid power can reliably serve as the primary power supply.

How many power supply combinations are there in a base station?

For base stations, there are six power supply combinations-solar-only, solar+diesel, solar+mains, etc. Solar-only When there is sufficient sunlight, photovoltaic cells convert solar energy into electric power. Loads are powered by solar energy controllers, which also charge the batteries.

What is the main source of power for a base station?

In the case of base stations situated in regions with bad-grid or off-grid power availability, the predominant source of power for the base stations is diesel generators. [4,6] Diesel generation is costly in both the procurement of fuel and travel required to maintain adequate fuel levels at the base stations.

Can off-the-grid energy solutions help remote base stations?

Uninterrupted power supply for remote base stations has been a challenge since the founding of the wireless industry, but alternative sources have a chance of succeeding where traditional solutions have failed. With users no longer tolerating spotty coverage in the great outdoors, the need for off-the-grid energy solutions is ever growing.

How much energy does a cellular base-station consume?

Less well known is that about 0.5% of the global energy supply is consumed by mobile communications infrastructure, alone, [6,7] Among the mobile communications infrastructure, cellular base-stations have the largest appetite, consuming around 80% of total power, in studies completed of 2G and 3G networks, and of 3G and 4G networks. [6,8]