MTN South Africa Deploys AI to Boost Network Energy Efficiency Across Western Cape

MTN South Africa, in collaboration with Chinese ICT vendor ZTE, has expanded the commercial rollout of ZTE AIR RAN EnergyTurbo across the Western Cape. This AI-native energy management system for cellular base stations demonstrated significant energy savings during a trial in Cape Town, where it increased site energy efficiency by an additional 10.7 percentage points, bringing total savings to 13.5% compared to baseline features.

The EnergyTurbo system utilizes network AI to dynamically manage power consumption. Instead of static rules, it models traffic patterns, site-specific energy policies, and real-time service demand to make closed-loop decisions. This intelligent approach allows base stations to reduce energy use during off-peak hours without compromising service quality during high demand, addressing a critical commercial concern for operators.

This deployment is a tangible outcome of MTN Group's "AI Inside" initiative, which aims to leverage AI for internal efficiencies across various operational areas. ZTE South Africa's CEO, Luca Shen, highlighted the practical application of AI in African operating conditions to support greener digital growth. MTN South Africa's acting CTO, Ernest Paul, emphasized AI's role in enabling smarter real-time decisions for sustainable network operations.

The initiative also reflects a broader trend of Chinese ICT vendors, including Huawei, ZTE, and Alibaba Cloud, strengthening their presence in African AI infrastructure through partnerships with operators. While EnergyTurbo focuses on network optimization software, it aligns with China's infrastructure-first approach to AI in Africa. The success of this Western Cape rollout will be crucial in determining if these energy savings can be replicated across MTN's national network, contributing to the group's R30-billion AI value creation target.