Energy & Sustainability

MTN and ZTE announce successful AI-led energy-saving trial

MTN and ZTE announce successful AI-led energy-saving trial

Operator MTN South Africa and integrated information and communication technology solutions provider ZTE Corporation say they have advanced the commercial validation of ZTE AIR RAN EnergyTurbo, an AI-native closed-loop energy intelligence solution.

In a commercial trial conducted across selected Cape Town sites, EnergyTurbo, which was designed to improve mobile network energy efficiency while maintaining a stable customer experience, demonstrated measurable AI-driven value under live network conditions.

While baseline energy-saving features delivered energy savings of 2.8% per site, EnergyTurbo with AI achieved savings of 13.5%, representing an additional uplift of 10.7 percentage points.

The solution delivered significant energy-efficiency improvements and contributed to lower operating energy consumption across the trial sites.

ZTE explains that EnergyTurbo applies network AI to understand traffic patterns, site energy policies, and real-time service demand. Instead of relying on fixed rules, the solution predicts traffic changes and makes site-specific decisions in a closed loop. This enables base stations to save energy during low-load periods while protecting service quality when demand rises.

Following the successful commercial trial in Cape Town, the solution was scaled across the Western Cape during Q2 2026. The rollout was delivered in collaboration with regional teams and an OEM partner, marking what is described as a significant milestone in MTN South Africa's journey to operationalise AI-driven network innovation.

It’s not clear whether the next stage will be a wider rollout, but MTN and ZTE point out that the deployment demonstrates their ability to translate advanced technology into measurable business, network efficiency and sustainability outcomes.



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