Advanced Power Management Techniques in Next-Generation Wireless Networks

Because mobile devices are equipped with a limited amount of battery power, it is essential to have efficient power management mechanisms in mobile broadband networks such as mobile WiMAX and 3GPP Long Term Evolution that enable always on connectivity. This article presents the state-of-the-art power management methods in next-generation wireless networks with a focus on IEEE 802.16m(1) based next-generation WiMAX networks and 3GPP LTE. To minimize and optimize user equipment power consumption, and further to support various services and large amounts of data transmissions, advanced power conservation mechanisms are being developed in IEEE 802.16m and 3GPP. Two advanced power conservation mechanisms, sleep and idle modes, which are enhanced versions of the legacy IEEE 802.16 system's sleep and idle modes, were proposed and adopted in IEEE 802.16m. Similarly, 3GPP LTE adopts a discontinuous reception mechanism for power conservation in RRC_CONNECTED and RRC_IDLE states. Power management techniques in WiMAX and 3GPP LTE provide less control signaling and operational overhead while providing more efficient power saving, and use simpler operation procedures than the existing power management techniques.