Power-Efficient RAN Intelligent Controllers Through Optimized KPI Monitoring

Abstract: The Open Radio Access Network (RAN) paradigm envisions a more flexible, interoperable, and intelligent RAN ecosystem via new open interfaces and elements like the RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC). However, the impact of these elements on Open RAN's power consumption remains heavily unexplored. This work for the first time evaluates the impact of Key Performance Indicator (KPI) monitoring on RIC's power consumption using real traffic and power measurements. By analyzing various RIC-RAN communication scenarios, we identify that RIC's power consumption can become a scalability bottleneck, particularly in large-scale deployments, even when RIC is limited to its core operational functionalities and without incorporating application-specific processes. In this context, also for the first time we explore potential power savings through the elimination of redundant KPI transmissions, extending existing techniques for identical subscription removal and KPI selection, achieving significant power consumption gains exceeding 87\% of the overall RIC power consumption.