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ATIS publishes energy efficiency measuring system for telecoms gear

Tony Chan | March 23, 2009 | 0 Comments

The Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) says it has developed three standards for measuring the energy efficiency of telecommunication equipment.

Published as the Telecommunications Energy Efficiency Ratio, or TEER, the standards are designed to determine ‘network-element efficiency,’ through a ‘comprehensive methodology’ that measures and reports energy consumption, and uniformly quantifies a network component’s ratio of ‘work performed’ to energy consumed.

“The TEER’s development is another example of ATIS’ market-driven work,” said Susan Miller, ATIS President and CEO. “It reaffirms industry’s commitment to environmental sustainability and green business practices. Moreover, it will enable diverse industry elements increased efficiencies and cost containment – which translates to savings for end-users.”

The efficiency standards are specific to equipment type, network location and classification. Normalizing these ratings by functionality enables “apples-to-apples” equipment comparison. This systemized assessment results in repeatable and comparable energy consumption measurement.

According to ATIS, the three new standards, developed, by its Network Interface, Power and Protection Committe, have been adopted as American National Institute Standards. The three initial definitions address the measuring of TEER’s General Requirements, Transport Requirements, and Server Requirements. These are the first of a larger collection – related to diverse network processes including: routers, power rectifiers and wireless access equipment – currently in development, ATIS said.

Documentation for the initial three standards are available for purchase from ATIS’s online store.

According to ATIS, more than 1,100 industry professionals from 300 communications companies actively participate in its committees and incubator solutions programs. ATIS’s board is made up of senior executives from AT&T, Verizon, BT, Cisco Systems, and Harris Stratex Networks.