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Leaders who think sustainably

Energy-efficient solutions to achieve Net Zero
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Elisa is at the forefront of the sustainability in mobile networks

This story explains how Elisa leverages 5G technology to become the most sustainable European communication service provider, while delivering superior network performance.

Case

Highlights

Ericsson 5G TDD mid-band solutions can be up to 13 times more energy efficient than 4G on FDD bands. Elisa with 90 percent of the population covered by 5G TDD mid-band in Finland in 2022 and 70 percent in Estonia, is continuously fulfilling customers’ expectations with maximized energy efficiency in focus.

To further boost energy efficiency, Elisa is implementing Ericsson RAN Energy efficiency software in its network, helping reduce energy consumption even more.

The latest deployment of AIR 3268 provides up to 25 percent energy savings compared to previously used radio, based on network measurement.

AIR 3268 suburban Ericsson Radio System.

Elisa's drivers for the change

  • energy efficiency set as one of the strategic cornerstones while driving 5G commercialization through network quality, technology leadership, and innovation in services
  • the awareness that the largest environmental impact of communications service providers comes from increasing energy demand
  • becoming the first carbon-neutral operator in the Nordic countries, thus leading the way among communications service providers toward the Net Zero aim

The company’s efforts have been recognized by an external firm on its latest global network benchmarking 2023 report, where Elisa is positioned among the top service provider in multiple categories, as well as in the 2023 report for Finland, naming Elisa the winner in Availability and Core Consistent Quality.

Team from Elisa Finland office sitting in a meeting room.
Tiina Höckert, Head of Mobile Access, Elisa Finland
“Seeing that we can provide high-quality 5G services to our customers and increase their satisfaction, motivated us on our 5G journey. In Ericsson, we found a reliable partner, ready to support us equally in our monetization and sustainability goals.”


Tiina Höckert, Head of Mobile Access, Elisa Finland

Deployed energy-efficient solutions

As an operator focused on climate change mitigation and reducing carbon emissions, Elisa found in Ericsson an equally sustainability-responsible partner that can provide energy-efficient products and solutions.

Ericsson solutions deployed in Elisa’s network:

Ericsson 5G Core and 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) solutions:

Ericsson Massive MIMO products: to enhance network performance and energy efficiency.

Ericsson cloud-native dual-mode 5G Core: to support the network upgrade to 5G Standalone in Estonia.

Ericsson’s ultra-light antenna-integrated radio AIR 3268: to improve network energy efficiency. It has also increased the coverage of TDD mid-band and improved the overall Watt per GB of the site.

Ericsson RAN Energy efficiency software: by automatically deactivating not-required capacity during low and medium traffic loads, Ericsson’s intelligent RAN energy-saving software features help significantly reduce energy consumption.

Elisa’s and Ericsson’s partnership in the sustainability journey

2023

  • Ericsson's ultra-light antenna-integrated radio AIR 3268 deployment
  • Ericsson RAN Energy efficiency software testing

2022

  • Elisa selects Ericsson cloud-native dual-mode 5G Core to support upgrade to 5G SA in Estonia

2021

  • Ericsson Massive MIMO products introduction

2020

  • Ericsson Cloud Packet Core products and solutions are live in Elisa's 5G network
  • Elisa selects Ericsson for a comprehensive 5G technology deployment

The results

The solutions from Ericsson’s portfolio with enhanced energy efficiency performance contributed to achieving 13 time less energy consumption per Gigabyte in a commercial network.

Energy efficiency is further boosted with network automation through Ericsson RAN Energy Efficiency software which automatically enables and disables the radio’s main power amplifier and other hardware blocks during fixed idle periods.

The new AIR 3268 has reduced energy consumption by 25 percent compared to AIR 3278 while offering the same level of downlink performance and a 12 percent improvement in the uplink data volume. 

Reduced equipment weight is achieved, going down to 14 kilograms for AIR 3268 from 25 kilograms for AIR 3278.

The overall result is improved network energy efficiency, excellent customer experience, and cost-effectiveness.

25.00 %
reduction in energy consumption with AIR 3268
12.00 %
increase of uplink data volume
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Taking advantage of Cloud Native – recent success

In June 2023, Elisa became the first service provider in Europe to deploy In-Service Software Upgrade capability on a live production 5G Standalone (SA) network powered by Ericsson. Delivered through the Continuous Delivery and Deployment model, the capability is a key part of Elisa’s transition to fully cloud-native infrastructure for 5G SA and enables the company to upgrade its core network software efficiently, with no interruption to services.