Vodafone claims strong results for energy-saving trials in Turkey

Details: Vaughan O'Grady; Category: Energy & Sustainability; 09 July 2026; 214 views

Operator Vodafone says is trialling energy-saving 5G technology in Turkey, using new radio antennas and advanced engineering designed to boost performance and resilience while saving power.

In what is described as an industry-first test, Vodafone says it has achieved up to 10% energy savings using new software and hardware-based power saving techniques, as well as an additional 20% reduction with next generation radios. This allows Vodafone to dynamically add capacity to match demand, ensuring customers receive uninterrupted fast connectivity while making more efficient use of network resources and reducing unnecessary power consumption.

Vodafone says that, in maximum energy-saving mode, its radio antenna can operate using as little as 10 watts of power – around the same amount used by a standard LED light bulb – while returning to full capacity in approximately 30 seconds. Throughout this process, uninterrupted service continues to be delivered over the low and mid-band frequencies, and full capacity is reached by reactivating massive MiMo radios using the 3.5GHz spectrum. The 3.5GHz frequency is commonly used in Vodafone Turkey with massive MIMO radios to boost capacity in busy urban areas.

In fast response mode, the radios operate at 50 watts and can return to full performance in less than five seconds, ensuring additional network capacity is available almost instantly whenever traffic demand increases.

In addition to reducing energy use, the technology strengthens network resilience by enabling mobile base stations to run for longer on backup power supplies during electricity grid outages. Vodafone says it marks an important step in the company’s ambition to build more sustainable, future-ready networks.

The tests are taking place at Vodafone’s newly opened multi-vendor mobile test and innovation centre in Istanbul. Known as BESTT (Benchmark Environment Site Testing in Turkey), the facility replicates a live network to test and validate customer-focused radio access network (RAN) software and hardware, while also supporting innovation, including new 5G Advanced applications.