A VMware executive warns that parts of the cellular network will go down this winter. At a time when cellular data is increasing, energy bills are rising, and power supplies in Europe are being drastically cut, network outages could prove fatal to normal life.

“The power shortage is here to stay. It may be in Europe today, but it’s definitely going to be a global problem that we have to deal with”,

said Sanjay Uppal, SVP and general manager of (SEBU) at VMware, in an interview with EE Times

VMware is working with cellular service providers (CSPs) and telcos to optimize services and reduce power consumption in data centers and cellular networks. Uppal believes these efforts will help alleviate the situation. However, “they are not quick fixes that you can do tomorrow,” Uppal said.

The continued deployment of 5G cellular networks will result in some reduction in power consumption, but only once autonomous 5G (3GPP Rel. 16 and higher) is deployed everywhere. In addition, data traffic is growing exponentially, already reaching 110 exabytes per month, according to the Ericsson Mobility Report. This increase in data traffic further increases the power consumption of the network and connected devices.

He believes VMware vSphere 8 will have a significant impact on power consumption, helping to consolidate workloads. These optimizing technologies, Uppal says, can result-in some cases-in up to 50% energy savings.