R&D: Wifirst explores the energy efficiency of access points

The energy consumption of professional WiFi infrastructures remains a poorly documented subject, even as the number of access points (APs) continues to grow in hotels, campuses, hospitals and businesses. Hamidou Dembélé, a research engineer at Wifirst, has filled this gap with a landmark study published by the prestigious IEEE journal. His work, entitled "Characterization of Wi-Fi Access Point Energy Consumption and the Impact of IEEE 802.11 Standard Evolutions", tackles a strategic issue: how can WiFi networks be made both more efficient and more sustainable?

Why is this study important?

At a time when networks are evolving towards ever more powerful standards, one might think that more performance necessarily means more power consumption. Hamidou's study for Wifirst shows that this is not inevitable. Three key findings emerge from the study:

1. Energy efficiency is possible without sacrificing performance.
2. Dynamic adjustment of bandwidth and transmit power is essential.
3. Manufacturers must take energy impact into account right from the design phase.

Illustration of experimental device

A rigorous methodology for sustainability

To carry out this analysis, Hamidou carried out a series of tests on real equipment, in conditions close to the field. Several generations of APs were compared, from WiFi 4 to WiFi 7, with extremely precise power consumption measurements. The study incorporates numerous technical parameters often ignored in conventional models, including network load, radio configurations (such as MIMO, MCS modulation schemes, bandwidth), and transmit power. By combining these factors, it offers a realistic approach to access point energy consumption.

The result: an advanced predictive model of AP consumption, capable of helping engineers to size their networks more frugally and intelligently, to understand that :

• Better AP energy efficiency is possible without sacrificing performance.
• It is crucial todynamically adapt bandwidth and transmit power to actual conditions.
• Manufacturers need to take energy impact into account right from the design stage.

The study thus provides a solid basis for designing a more sustainable WiFi infrastructure, in line with ecological issues and performance requirements.

An approach in line with Wifirst's CSR commitments

As a leading European player in managed connectivity, Wifirst is committed to building a high-performance, resilient and responsible network infrastructure. Hamidou Dembélé's latest scientific publication is fully in line with this applied research approach, at the crossroads of technological innovation and energy sobriety.

This approach enables us to identify the parameters that have the greatest influence on the energy consumption of WiFi access points, and thus to explore concrete optimization levers for both current and future networks.

A valuable advance that will undoubtedly enable us to better advise our customers in their infrastructure projects, combining performance and responsibility.