One of the biggest impediments of future wireless communications systems is the need to limit the energy consumption of the battery-driven devices so as to prolong the operational times and to avoid active cooling. In fact, without new approaches for energy saving, there is a significant threat that the 4G mobile users will be searching for power outlets rather than network access, and becoming once again bound to a single location; where some authors describe this effect as the “energy trap” of 4G system. Therefore GREEN-T aims to overcome the energy trap of 4G mobile systems by investigating and demonstrating energy saving technologies for multi-standard wireless mobile devices, exploiting the combination of cognitive radio and cooperative strategies while still enabling the required performance in terms of data rate and QoS to support active applications. This notion is further extended by investigating lightweight security approaches, which is a pivotal requirements of 4G systems that will constitute a multitude of players from network operators to services provides cooperating under a converged service platform.

IQUADRAT will contribute through a set of “conventional” energy-saving technologies will be identified as references against which cooperative and cognitive power saving strategies will be compared. Moreover the key part is to select the metrics that can be used to evaluate the power efficiency gains of the overall system.
In addition, IQUADRAT task is to define and develop novel, energy-efficient MAC protocols for cooperation between network nodes in short-range communication scenarios as well as vertical handover strategies. More specifically, IQUADRAT is task leader for the implementation of cooperative networks for power saving.

Partners: Instituto de Telecomunicações (IT), Portugal Telecom Inovação (PTI), UbiWhere (UW), IQUADRAT (IQU), The Telecommunications Technological Center of Catalunya (CTTC), Infostrada (Info), Huawei (HWSE), The Telecommunications Software & Systems Group – Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT), Taoglas (TAO), I&IMS (IMS), University of Oulu (UO), Mobivery (MOB).