INTELLIGENT POWER SAVINGS AND LOW CARBON EMISSION IN CLOUD RAN AND DAS SYSTEMS

1 . A distributed antenna system (DAS) serving a base station, the distributed antenna system comprising:

one or more entities, wherein at least one entity is configured to receive control-plane data from the base station and analyze the control-plane data from the base station on a slot-by-slot basis in order to determine if there is any activity for each slot;

wherein at least one entity of the DAS is operated in a low-power mode for a given slot if a corresponding control-plane data for the given slot indicate that there is no activity for the given slot and is operated in a normal-power mode for the given slot if the corresponding control-plane data for the given slot indicate that there is activity for the given slot.

2 . The distributed antenna system of claim 1 , wherein the distributed antenna system is configured to receive time-domain data from the base station and wherein at least one entity in the distributed antenna system is configured to perform receiver processing on the time-domain data in order to recover or generate the control-plane data.

3 . The distributed antenna system of claim 2 , wherein the distributed antenna system is configured to receive the time-domain data from the base station using at least one of an analog radio frequency (RF) interface and a common public radio interface (CPRI).

4 . The distributed antenna system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one entity is configured to determine, based on the control-plane data, activity for a subsequent slot of a plurality of slots, and wherein the at least one entity is configured to operate in a low-power mode for the subsequent slot.

5 . The distributed antenna system of claim 4 , wherein the at least one entity is configured to analyze the control-plane data to determine if there is any activity for another slot subsequent to the subsequent slot while the at least one entity is operating in the low-power mode.

6 . The distributed antenna system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one entity comprises at least one of: a distributed unit (DU), a master unit (MU), and a remote unit (RU).

7 . The distributed antenna system of claim 6 , wherein the MU comprises a donor node and an access node, wherein the donor node is configured to determine whether the control-plane data from the base station indicate activity for a subsequent slot of a plurality of slots, wherein the access node is configured to operate in a low-power mode when the control-plane data indicate there is activity for the subsequent slot.

8 . The distributed antenna system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one entity is configured to transmit common control messages while operating in the low-power mode.

9 . The distributed antenna system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one entity is configured to transmit physical random access channel (PRACH) messages while operating in the low-power mode.

10 . A base station comprising:

one or more entities, wherein at least one entity is configured to analyze control-plane data for the base station on a slot-by-slot basis in order to determine if there is any activity for each slot;

wherein at least one entity of the base station is operated in a low-power mode for a given slot if a corresponding control-plane data for the given slot indicate that there is no activity for the given slot and is operated in a normal-power mode for the given slot if the corresponding control-plane data for the given slot indicate that there is activity for the given slot.

11 . The base station of claim 10 , wherein the at least one entity is configured to determine, based on the control-plane data, activity for a subsequent slot of a plurality of slots, and wherein the at least one entity is configured to operate in a low-power mode for the subsequent slot.

12 . The base station of claim 11 , wherein the at least one entity is configured to analyze the control-plane data to determine if there is any activity for another slot subsequent to the subsequent slot while the at least one entity is operating in the low-power mode.

13 . The base station of claim 11 , wherein the at least one entity comprises at least one of: a distributed unit (DU) and a remote unit (RU).

14 . The base station of claim 11 , wherein the base station is communicatively coupled to a distributed antenna system, wherein the at least one entity is configured to provide the control-plane data to at least one unit of the distributed antenna system.

15 . A method for adjusting operation of a unit of a distributed antenna system, comprising:

receiving control-plane data for a given slot of a plurality of slots;

determining transmit or receive activity for the unit on the given slot from the control-plane data;

upon determining that the transmit or receive activity for the unit is less than a threshold value, setting the unit to a low-power mode for the given slot; and

upon determining that the transmit or receive activity for the unit is greater than a threshold value, setting the unit to a normal-power mode for the given slot.

16 . The method of claim 15 , comprising:

determining, based on the control-plane data, activity for a subsequent slot of the plurality of slots, and

setting the unit in a low-power mode for the subsequent slot.

17 . The method of claim 16 , comprising:

analyzing the control-plane data to determine if there is any activity for another slot subsequent to the subsequent slot while operating in the low-power mode.

18 . The method of claim 15 , comprising:

receiving time-domain data from a base station; and

performing receiver processing on the time-domain data in order to recover or generate the control-plane data.

19 . The method of claim 15 , comprising:

transmitting common control messages while operating in the low-power mode.

20 . The method of claim 15 , comprising:

transmitting physical random access channel (PRACH) messages while operating in the low-power mode.