Everyone talks about 5G growth.
But I’ve been tracking something else.
The quiet shift toward energy efficiency.
It’s not loud.
But it’s powerful.
And it’s changing how networks are built.
Here’s what I’ve seen—release by release.
→ First, Release 17.
Mobility handovers became selective.
No more constant on-off switching.
Just smarter transitions.
→ Then, Release 18.
Energy saving moved to beam level.
Inter-node beam activation kicked in.
Radios entered deep sleep.
→ Then, we’ve Release 19.
Wake-Up Signals (WUS) run on minimal power.
SSB transmissions became event-driven.
Handover got a power check.
→ Next is Release 20 and beyond.
Intelligent Reconfigurable Surfaces (IRS) enter the game.
Zero-energy devices show up.
No batteries. No wires.
That’s the roadmap.
A quiet march toward low-energy networks.
Why does it matter?
Because the energy cost is real.
Operators feel it.
Infra teams feel it.
Still, not everyone’s paying attention.
Energy efficiency isn’t headline-worthy yet.
But it should be.
Thanks for reading.
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