Strategic Demand-Planning in Wireless Networks: Can Generative-AI Save Spectrum and Energy?

TL;DR

This paper explores how Generative-AI can optimize demand management in wireless networks, potentially saving spectrum and energy by transforming content and improving network efficiency in various scenarios.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of strategic demand-planning using GenAI for demand-shaping, demand-labeling, and demand-rescheduling in wireless networks, highlighting its potential benefits.

Findings

GenAI can compress and convert content to optimize network performance.

GenAI enhances demand-shaping for cell-switching, user association, and interference management.

Potential for significant spectrum and energy savings in wireless networks.

Abstract

Generative-AI (GenAI), a novel technology capable of producing various types of outputs, including text, images, and videos, offers significant potential for wireless communications. This article introduces the concept of strategic demand-planning through demand-labeling, demand-shaping, and demand-rescheduling. Accordingly, GenAI is proposed as a powerful tool to facilitate demand-shaping in wireless networks. More specifically, GenAI is used to compress and convert the content of various types (e.g., from a higher bandwidth mode to a lower one, such as from a video to text), which subsequently enhances performance of wireless networks in various usage scenarios, such as cell-switching, user association and load balancing, interference management, as well as disasters and unusual gatherings. Therefore, GenAI can serve a function in saving energy and spectrum in wireless networks. With recent advancements in AI, including sophisticated algorithms like large language models and the development of more powerful hardware built exclusively for AI tasks, such as AI accelerators, the concept of demand-planning, particularly demand-shaping through GenAI, becomes increasingly relevant. Furthermore, recent efforts to make GenAI accessible on devices, such as user terminals, make the implementation of this concept even more straightforward and feasible.