Wednesday 18 March, 2026
Telenor aimed to improve energy savings in network operations while ensuring quality connectivity for mobile network users and the trustworthiness of its AI operations, aligning with its sustainability ambitions.
Solution: Telenor and Ericsson developed an AI-driven solution designed to autonomously control network functionality and manage energy consumption through reinforcement learning (RL) technologies and trustworthy AI. The AI agent monitors the network’s state, adjusts parameters such as sleep-mode activations, and observes the results of its decisions via a feedback loop. The agent’s actions are also complemented with explanations that further enables better understanding of its decisions and consequently enabling user trust.
Impact: The solution demonstrated reduced network energy consumption without negatively impacting network quality. In a simulated environment the AI agent achieved a 4% energy consumption saving for the L26 radio cell, with time in active sleep mode increasing from 4 to 7 hours on average. The AI system is currently being implemented for testing in live network trials.
Cost : The implementation involved costs related to developing the AI agent, training it, and integrating it with existing systems, but it can reduce long-term energy usage and increase operational efficiency.
Topic: Optimisation and automation AI
MNOs: Telenor and Ericsson
