The internet and other communications networks could use one-ten-thousandth of the energy that they do today if smarter data-coding techniques were used to move information around. That鈥檚 the conclusion of , the research centre in Murray Hill, New Jersey, where both the laser and transistor were invented.
The lab has launched a consortium of networking and computing firms called that is committed to developing new power-saving technologies. The initial goal is to cut power use in the global telecoms network by 99.9聽per cent by 2015.
At issue, says Gee Rittenhouse, head of research at Bell Labs, is the 300聽million tonnes of carbon dioxide belched into the atmosphere to power today鈥檚 global telephone, internet and cellphone networks. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 equivalent to the emissions from 50聽million automobiles, or 20聽per cent of the cars registered in the US,鈥� he says. The explosion in internet traffic taking place as mobiles go online and video viewing grows, plus future changes such as the arrival of 3D TV, will push those emissions even higher.
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Back to basics
One way Bell Labs plans to develop low-power networks is by harnessing the theories of its late alumnus that underlie all electronic communication, wired or wireless.
Shannon worked out that in a low-power channel, where unwanted 鈥渘oise鈥� is loud compared with the intended signal, a code can always be devised to extract the messages being transmitted. Today鈥檚 fibre-optic and cellphone networks avoid having to take that approach by using high power levels. 鈥淏ut by using smarter codes we can extract those signals and reconstruct them accurately even in the presence of high noise,鈥� Rittenhouse says.
Other members of the Green Touch consortium include US mobile network AT&T, China Mobile 鈥� the world鈥檚 largest cellphone operator 鈥� European mobile operator Telefonica, hardware manufacturers Samsung and Freescale Semiconductor, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, California, the University of Melbourne, Australia and the French national computing lab INRIA.
Consolidated data
MIT engineer says she will be looking for ways to bundle together internet data taking similar routes through the network to reduce the traffic on power-hungry trunk routes. 鈥淎 lot of energy is dissipated in vain,鈥� she says.
At the University of Melbourne, will focus on the power consumed by broadband modems, phones and cellphones when not in use.
鈥淚f you have broadband your modem is probably switched on all the time, consuming a few watts,鈥� he explains. 鈥淲e鈥檒l be looking at ways to make modems and phones go into a sleep mode when not in use 鈥� but from which they can wake up quickly.鈥�
Samsung of South Korea is still firming up its ideas. 鈥淏ut memory and displays in communications systems are areas where we can particularly innovate,鈥� says engineer Young Mo Kim.
It鈥檚 not just hardware that will be getting attention 鈥� changing user behaviour can also cut power use. For example by making cellphone battery life indicators more accurate or power-saving settings easier to change, users could be encouraged to use their cellphone batteries more efficiently. 鈥淭he user aspects of communications energy-saving will be a clear focus,鈥� says Bell Labs president Jeong Kim.
