Green Communication, Dissertation Example

4.1 Meaning

Currently there is a growing trend that needs to address the expansive telecommunications infrastructure throughout the world, including the accelerated rise in the usage of communications, the increasing costs of energy, the future uncertainty of the depleting fossil fuels, and terroristic or natural threats to the infrastructure. All these factors create an urgent need to push towards the development of an environmental friendly and energy-efficient method for communications. There are several definitions that attempt to correctly define all the past and current trends within the field of communications. The new trend that many technology and communication specialists have pointed towards Green Communications. In defining the concept it takes several terms that must be first addressed. Communications is defined by Webster as, “a process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or behaviors.”(Merriam-Webster, n.d) Within the blanket terms of Communications are the establishment of concepts, and technologies that have help people across the world communicate with the development of Telecommunications.

Telecommunication is the science of communication over long distances with the use of radio and telephone technology. Telecommunications is the involvement of everything from data, computers, telephones, radios, video communications and devices that primary functions are information. “Information and communications technology usage has grown at a staggering rate worldwide with an estimated 6 billion subscriptions in 2010. Every year, 120,000 new BS’s are deployed serving 400 million new mobile subscribers around the world.” (He, Amanna, Tsou, Chen, Datla, Gaeddert, Newman, Hasan, Volos, Reed, Bose 2011)

In understanding how telecommunications has evolved into Green Communications, the elementary definition of Green Communications are directly centered on the verbiage of what is “green.” Green centers on being environmentally friendly, such as the need for policy towards global warming, carbon footprints, curbing emissions, and preserving our natural resources. However, what Green is indicative of within this context of communications is for sustainability of the telecommunications infrastructure around the world. The dire issues of waste consumption/reduction, air and soil quality, water, and the ozone layer protection is stressed intensively. Green Communication is particularly difficult in being defined in one way. The simple definition for the purpose of understanding the concept is in reducing, carbon emissions and, energy costs, which is defined as striving to reduce CO2 and energy costs within the context of maintaining Quality of Service in terms of coverage needs, capacity and user needs. (He, Amanna, Tsou, Chen, Datla, Gaeddert, Newman, Hasan, Volos, Reed, Bose 2011) Green Communications strives for improving energy efficiency as well as energy independence of telecommunications.

Green Communications is envisioned as the approach to practical communications system design that explicitly strives to reduce the carbon footprint within the infrastructures of telecommunications. “Telecommunications equipment typically contains a considerable amount of scarce materials and heavy metals. Both the extraction of these materials, typically through mining, and treatment of the waste represent a large environmental challenge.” (Vereecken, Van Heddeghem, Colle, Pickavet, Demeeste 2010) The sustainable definition for Green Communications involves the approach of reduction of energy while serving as the “framework for design and disposal of communication networks which aims to a sustainable growth of telecommunication networks which aims to a sustainable growth of telecommunications networks including wired and wireless networks.” (De Sanctis, Cianca, Joshi, 2011)

4.2 Benefits of Green Communication

In respect of being environmentally friendly and the sure benefit of energy efficiency, there are several less discussed benefits that many economists, environmentalists, network analysts, and several other specialists have pushed for this trend in communications. Green Communications provides businesses and several government entities with the ability to create value, and build competitive advantages that stand to benefit the environment. Methods of green communications are implemented within several information and technology fields including IT, data centers, and in the broader context of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). These benefits have spread throughout different fields that include “reducing wasteful inefficiencies.” (He, Amanna, Tsou, Chen, Datla, Gaeddert, Newman, Hasan, Volos, Reed, Bose 2011) Data and energy consumption measurement and monitoring capabilities within technology. Underutilization of energy in servers, infrastructures, and other communication devices. A substantial decrease in environmental pollution from radiation, telecommunications structures, and wires. Performance optimization, consumption of powers within computers, and other technology devices. Overall remaining true to the definition given of Green Communication is that it significantly reduces the carbon footprint, energy costs, and carbon emissions given off by the high volumes of usage of telecommunications. However to gain these benefits of Green Communication they are several issues that make Green Communications challenging.

4.3. Challenges and Issues

The reduction of greenhouse gases alone is not adequate when comparing system designs and improvements in energy-efficient components. The purpose of switching to an alternative approach in communications is to accommodate the growing number of users to mobile and communications networks. The global economic landscape is as unpredictable as is it in a stare of deterioration in some of the world’s former biggest economies. In combination with the increasing centralization on stewardship of saving the environment, it has made the objectives and goals of Green Communications an imperative task. The tasks of just resorting to turning every initiative into a green entity will not suffice as within several small communities the amount of energy consumption is the equivalent of implementing a large wind farm that costs nearly $100 million dollars. The issues that the design presents within the paradigm focus are centered on various levels in the network protocol stack where there is a separation amongst the problems that concern the hardware platforms and software framework for network communications. (Volos, Datla, Chen, He, Awanna, Newman, Hasam, Reed, Bose 2012) Furthermore these issues make the factors of operating the networks, as well as deployment, and marginal factors including the costs of maintenance, air conditioning units, and transportation factors an expensive alternative.

According to already established research, “currently, most advancements in energy efficient communications focus within a narrowly defined aspect of the communication system, such as power amplifier design or incorporation of renewable energy sources.” (He, Amanna, Tsou, Chen, Datla, Gaeddert, Newman, Hasan, Volos, Reed, Bose 2011) The already implemented design of communications methods create a difficult shift to the needed crossed layered design of a more energy efficient network. Additionally, as explained earlier there are several definitions, however, the inability of concrete definitions create a confusing understanding of the metrics for Green Communications within telecommunication. The understanding is needed in order to build a foundation that provides an overall assessment to improve and quantify the needs of Green Communication requirements.

4.4 Requirements of Green Communications

In order to meet the described challenges with the deployment of Green Communication, initiatives within a new direction of telecommunication infrastructures are required. In every new system the need for planning, assessment, measurement, and finally implementation. One of Green Communication’s requirements is the needed paradigm shift of various innovative new technologies, which include designing an energy efficient network that has implemented the correct procedures, protocols, and design from the cross layered network architecture. Cross layer network provides wireless transmission techniques that are energy efficient and allows for efficiency in home networking as well. “This vertical hierarchy allows each layer to utilize the output of the layer below it and to forward its own services to the layer above it, allowing interaction only between adjacent layers.” (He, Amanna, Tsou, Chen, Datla, Gaeddert, Newman, Hasan, Volos, Reed, Bose 2011) Within the architecture, it allows for greater integration of green techniques into the telecommunications infrastructure that provide the reduction of waste and allocations of energy to cut back on underutilization. These techniques can be used in developing a method of implementation for the Quality of Services (QoS) and over all control of the factors that drive the usage of daily mobile operations. (He, Amanna, Tsou, Chen, Datla, Gaeddert, Newman, Hasan, Volos, Reed, Bose 2011)

Other requirements of Green Communication include the leveraging of advances within the infrastructure architect, environmental observations for the overall telecommunications landscape, and monitoring of power usage in order to create a smart gird that is able to balance and deliver energy to consumers. As research suggest the current system in place is designed to optimize for the capacity of the users. However, “In order to incorporate Green Communications into overall network design and deployment, modeling tools are required that provide sufficient sub-system granularity.” (He, Amanna, Tsou, Chen, Datla, Gaeddert, Newman, Hasan, Volos, Reed, Bose 2011)

Chapter 6 Heterogeneous Networks

6.1 Meaning

As the paradigm shift continues toward energy efficient communications, including wireless networking, there is a growing need of using multiple networks that optimized mobile computation. Within the mobile devices are the power computation and storage capabilities with new innovations in technology, and increases in interactive services that are rapidly increasing demand for more bandwidth. As telecommunication infrastructures monitor the increase demand for data availability they look for more ways to optimize the mobile market including the use of heterogeneous networks. Heterogeneous Networks means networks of different types. Instead of only using one type of network, it is desired to utilize all interfaces available on a device, and hence choose the one best suited for communication.

Unlike a heterogeneous network a homogeneous network is susceptible to malicious attacks that reveal the cracks of the rest of the networks components. Heterogeneous network infrastructures result from the deployment of the various networking technologies within the Factory, Business, and IT contexts that fulfill the numerous needs in communication. As a result, the infrastructure of the heterogeneous networks are able to provide the application end points that allow for a secure and reliable communication. “A heterogeneous network, known informally as “hetnet,” is a multi-technology, multi-topology, multi-environment network used to ensure traffic absorption from outdoor to indoor from rural to urban areas.”(Siradel, n.d) Heterogeneous networks are part of the Green Communications networks that assist in energy reduction in wireless and wire telecommunications. Heterogeneous is the move towards a practical solution in wireless communication specifically within mobile phones. According to research the solution lies in shortening the distance between the base stations and mobile phones. Heterogeneous networks topology design help to meet this solution, “by deploying small, low power base stations or relay stations into macro cells, small cells, are formed and typically used to extend coverage where macro station signals do not reach well, or to add network capacity in areas with very dense data usage.” (Soton, 2004) The different types of heterogeneous networks aid in the design for mobile networks.

6.2 Types of Heterogeneous Networks

Within heterogeneous networks, they consists of variability of new technologies, optical fibers, terrestrial wireless communications, optical links, and satellite communications. Heterogeneous networks consists of several types that allow for the different characteristics that allow to reach a bigger capacity of users while being efficient in power consumption. The different types of heterogeneous networks are macro cells, pico-cells, femto-cells, and micro-cells. In micro-cell networks, they are usually placed outside and hooked up with a dedicated wired line. These low powered cell towers only cover a small amount of users in comparison with a mall or a hotel.  Macro Cells have more variability and are the most popular as they can be placed outdoors and indoors serving as residential or open to the public, with wireless or wired characteristics. They can be mounted on rooftops, along highways, and top heights of multiple infrastructures. Pico cells are very small with a power capacity only available to a small amount of users while being placed outside opened to the public. Placed in usually small building, on aircrafts, and other small places like a train or bus hubs, and malls. Pico-cells is usually used in conjunction with Macro-Cells in order to strengthen the weakness of the inside infrastructure that is usually involved in providing services to dense urban areas. The last type of network are femto-cells, they are the smallest of network types that are usually placed indoor in residential homes. The advantages allow for lower costs, and better traffic as only a few users have accessibility. Femto-cells have such a low level of power capacities their backhaul characteristics usually consist of a dedicated wired line for residential access or broadband where available. “In this strategy, macro base stations are used to provide blanket coverage, on the other hand small, low power base stations are introduced to eliminate the coverage holes and at the same time increase the system capacity in hotspots.” (Abdulkafi, Kiong, Koh, Chieng, Ting, 2012) Not only do heterogeneous involves the four cell or layer types but also they provide the channel types, or the rate of change of the channels that consist of the delay, rate of error, and bandwidth. The channel types involve long term stability, varying channels, predictable channels, and stochastic channels. “Heterogeneous technology generations, integrated into a single interoperable network via gateways or other interconnection techniques. Heterogeneous services, some packet oriented and some circuit oriented, including voice, video, file transfer, short message.”

6.3 Benefits of heterogeneous network

The point of heterogeneous networks are for a more efficient method in energy consumption and computation within mobile telecommunications. Heterogeneous networks provides several efficiency metrics that are useful in reducing consumption in base stations. “With techniques such as BS cooperation and relaying, inter-cell interference and fading effects can be mitigated and hence MUs can observe higher diversity gains and better coverage.”(Hasan,

Boostanimehr, Bharga 2011) There are benefits to these base stations in addition, they provide efficiency in wireless nodes, units, and improvement to the power amplifier. The main benefits the deployments of their network types, more importantly the smaller cells that provide for better efficiency, lower costs, high capacity, high speed connection, and reliable communications used in heavily dense or populated areas that support the diverse data heavy applications. Femto-celled and Pico-celled network/layers can be used in combination to expand the network in order to fill the no service spots in rural and less dense urban areas. What the heterogeneous networks bring towards a more efficient telecommunications are the flexibility of optimal user and data capacity in addition to overall coverage that offers improvements to problems with dead spots and high data usage spots. The flexibility in cell range and placement provide data coverage to the multiple mobile and technology devices that run on different frameworks and software. “The importance of the heterogeneous network concept and the work that’s going on in standards bodies, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. (IEEE) and 3GPP, is that it will define how all those different-sized cells will work together, how hand-off among them will be achieved, how interference among them will be minimized and how spectrum and energy efficiencies will be optimized.” (Abdulkafi, Kiong, Koh, Chieng, Ting, 2012)

6.4 Issues and challenges

“To address the challenge of increasing power efficiency in future wireless networks and thereby to maintain profitability, it is crucial to consider energy efficient wireless architectures and protocols, efficient BS redesign, smart grids, cognitive radio, relaying and heterogeneous network deployment based on smaller cells.” (Abdulkafi, Kiong, Koh, Chieng, Ting, 2012) However, there are several challenges and issues that complicate the matter of implementation of heterogeneous networks. The challenges include, operating costs and the delay of executions within the heterogeneous network infrastructures due to the various technologies that are required in the network that mandates the need of trained staff for each technology implemented. Time delay in execution poses a major challenge in deployment of the different technologies required that must consist of training staff and providing the correct tools. The inner workings of the networks on the human side include, management in policies, planning for capacity, different staff meetings, and manual labor in order to complete the implementation of the different networks. Within the market demand for an efficient method ignores the issues that go within heterogeneous network infrastructures. “Software middleware frameworks that facilitates the deployment of advanced network management services in heterogeneous network infrastructures. Advanced network management services that directly address the efficiency and effectiveness issues stated in the problem statement.” (Code Alias, n.d) The problem lies with the availability of handoffs that do not have user interaction that increases the expenses, infrastructure costs, more equipment needed for installation, high density deployments.

As management implements the heterogeneous networks within the infrastructures the need for allocation of resources have to be flexible enough to meet the necessary and numerous technology applications used. The challenge of meeting the need of the changing Quality of Services (QoS) requirements, required extensive capacity planning, and topology design research. The design is the key issues, as a balance in network performance and energy use. The issues of operations, monitoring data usage, and security are important in implementing the issues, as all run on connections that run across an open or private networks. The dynamic network types creates a challenge of correct optimization, “the traffic pattern is dramatically different in different times of the day or in different geographical locations.” (Hasan, Boostanimehr, Bhargava 2011)

Unlike most methods, the costs of the trained staff may offset the reduction in cost of the networks. According to Hoydis, “The deployment, operation and maintenance of additional macro, micro, pico, and femto cells can cause heavy operational expenses.” (Hoydis et al., 2011). These expenses can range from implementing the broadband, wired connections, and creation of access points for the deployment of the cells. “However, there is a need to define appropriate energy efficiency metrics that capture the overall power budget of the whole network in order to quantify and qualify gains achieved by employing energy aware techniques in network planning.” (Abdulkafi, Kiong, Koh, Chieng, Ting, 2012) Energy can be wasted in areas where the data traffic has died down and cell towers are still on. Inter-cell and inter-tier interference can lead to severe challenges when different tiers are used on the same frequency and bandwidths. The different cell types create challenges in the use of nodes that coverage the holes of dead spots that could be utilized for macro cells, and the density of the backhaul characteristics limits the availability reserved to only a small amount of wireless nodes for power transmission and communication.

References

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Amanna, Ashwin, An He, Thomas Tsou, Xuetoa Chen, Dinesh Datla, Gaeddert, Timothy Newman, Jeffere Reed, Tomal Bose. “Green Communications; a New Paradigm For Creating Cost Effective Wireless Systems.” Journal of Communications. N.d.Web. 4 May, 2013 http://filebox.vt.edu/users/aamanna/web%20page/Green%20Communications-draft%20journal%20paper.pdf

“Challenges in Next Generation Heterogeneous Network.” Code Alias. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 May 2013. http://www.codealias.info/technotes/challenges_in_next_generation_heterogeneous

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Hasan, Ziaul, Hamidreza Boostanimehr, Vijay K. Bharga. “Green Cellular Networks: A Survey, Some Research Issues and Challenges.” N.p. Sep. 2011. Web. 4 May 2013. arxiv.org/pdf/1108.5493.pdf

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He, An, Amanna, Ashwin, Thomas Tsou, Xuetoa Chen, Dinesh Datla, Gaeddert, Timothy Newman, Jeffere Reed, Shajedul Hasan, Joseph Gaedder, Tomal Bose. “Green Communications; A New Paradigm For Creating Cost Effective Wireless Systems.” Journal of Communications, Vol. 6, No. 4, July 2011.Web. 4 May 2013. https://academypublisher.com/~academz3/ojs/index.php/jcm/article/viewFile/jcm0604340351/3368

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