Vodafone trial of energy-saving 5G technology dials up resilience

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

In an industry-first test, Vodafone 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.

Light bulb moment

In maximum energy-saving mode, Vodafone’s 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 Türkiye 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.

Marco Zangani, Director of Network Strategy and Architecture, Vodafone, said: “I’m proud that we have been able to continuously push energy efficiency to its limits by switching off our radio units for very short periods, yet restore them to full operation within seconds. This helps us deliver a great mobile experience for customers while saving power and improving resilience during emergencies.”

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. It marks an important step in Vodafone’s ambition to build more sustainable, future-ready networks.

BESTT facility in Turkey

The tests are taking place at Vodafone’s newly opened multi-vendor mobile test and innovation centre in Istanbul, Türkiye. 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 (the next generation of 5G) applications.

Vodafone will continue to test and refine the technology, using advanced algorithms to help ensure customers receive a fast, reliable 5G connection. The announcement follows Vodafone’s nationwide commercial launch of 5G in Türkiye in April 2026, when the network was activated across all 81 provincial centres.