Anyone following the innovation in the communications industry is keenly aware of the work put forth by the prominent Bell Labs facilities of Alcatel-Lucent, particularly with regards to eco-sustainability and energy efficiency in the ICT sector - an increasingly important part of technology development.
Recently, in fact, Bell Labs unveiled revolutionary new research around energy efficiency in carrier networks when it announced the Green Touch Initiative, through which it seeks to drive the transformation of network technology of the future, founded on the idea that today's networks use 10,000 times as much energy as is actually required for operation.
Through its facilities in Dublin, Ireland, Bell Labs has been working on a more traditional model of energy efficiency, seeking to reduce the carbon emissions from its existing equipment, along with developing new strategies, like topographical network management and more efficient optical networks, working in conjunction with programs like the Trinity College-based Centre for Telecommunications Value-Chain Research (CVTR).
To further expand its research capabilities out of Dublin, Bell Labs has announced it is that it is expanding the scope of its reserach there, which, in turn, will create more than 70 new high-tech jobs over the next several years.
"Through these efforts we believe Bell Labs in Ireland will be able to contribute to the local knowledge economy and have a beneficial impact on the lives of people around the world," said Jeong Kim, president of Bell Labs - including increased support for and contributions to the Green Touch Initiative.
Much of the research conducted by Bell Labs tends to be cutting edge - like its network energy utilization study - which, while highly useful, requires additional research to turn the initial study into practice, which is where relationships like the ones Bell Labs has built in Ireland will continue to drive the company's efforts. This announcement marks its ability to provide even greater opportunities for Irish academia in the communications research space and will further solidify Ireland as a key market in the telecom sector's research.
"Through these efforts, we believe Bell Labs in Ireland will be able to contribute to the local knowledge economy and have a beneficial impact on the lives of people around the world," noted Jeong Kim, president of Bell Labs.
Since its establishment five years ago, Bell Labs Ireland has contributed not only to the opportunities available to Irish researchers, but to the telecom industry:
- Bell Labs Ireland's focus on energy management has yielded a novel 3D heat sink design that reduces the energy required to cool communications systems by more than 25%, a significant impact given that up to 50% of a telecommunications equipment cabinet's total power consumption is expended on cooling.
- Sam Samuel, executive director of Bell Labs Ireland was one of the pioneers of the femtocell, a key component for improving communications network coverage. Femtocells have already been deployed in Vodafone's UK networks and Bell Labs in Ireland is continuing its exploration of the femtocell's potential.
- The RF hardware research team created new low-cost, low-weight, high-efficiency hardware technology for active antenna arrays, putting power amplifiers and receivers behind each antenna element to increase capacity and reduce power consumption in cellular base stations.
- The supply chain analytics research team has developed novel mathematical models to support the redesign of Alcatel-Lucent's supply chain. The advanced models and tools, as well as analytical insights provided by the team have resulted in significant cost savings to the company.
- Bell Labs Ireland was instrumental in defining the new IEEE 1687 (IJTAG) standard which simplifies the automatic on-site testing of telecom equipment thereby improving the reliability of systems.
