Philippines telco Globe Telecom is using Nokia's AVA energy efficiency software to drive lower network power consumption and costs.

The software, which uses AI and machine learning algorithms, will help Globe to shut idle and unused equipment automatically during low usage periods.

Nokia notes that this will reduce upfront capital costs for Globe, while eliminating on-site software maintenance and updates.

In a proof of concept test, Globe reported annual power savings of around three to six percent from Nokia’s AVA software along with the power-saving feature of the RAN.

"Network energy consumption is an issue that will only continue to grow in importance for CSPs as they step up their efforts to harmonize network efficiency and environmental objectives," said Susanna Patja, APJ Market leader, cloud and network services, at Nokia.

"Nokia AVA for Energy SaaS represents not only what we’re doing with AI to unlock the strategic potential of networks but also Nokia’s commitment to cut emissions across our value chain.”

"Efficient energy consumption is a strategic imperative for our network decarbonization initiatives and net zero targets," added Yoly Crisanto, chief sustainability and corporate communications officer of the Globe Group. "Deploying this solution will help reduce power costs, with no impact to customer experience."

The announcement comes a week after Globe reported a sharp rise in battery theft at its network facilities.

Thieves stole 834 backup batteries from the Philippines telco's towers in the first half of this year, which is around 2.4 times the number stolen in the whole of 2022.

The thefts are serious because batteries provide backup power during grid power outages, particularly in times of disaster.