Korean Telecom extends smartphone battery life with C-DRX technology
KT Corp (KT), aka Korea Telecom, has introduced a system at the network level that can increase smartphone battery life up to 45%. The technology, which is being applied to KT’s entire 14m LTE user base in South Korea, is an improvement on existing DRX[i] technology, which is currently used. Smartphone batteries have seen a 12% improvement in battery life over the last three years, while LTE data traffic has increased by 260%, leading to complaints that battery life is decreasing, and while technically this is incorrect, the battery drain from the almost constant pull of data through LTE networks makes it seem so to consumers.
By using the new technology, called C-DRX (Connected Mode Discontinuous Reception), KT says it was able to increase the life of a Galaxy S8 battery that was running continuous streaming videos, from between 9 hours/57 mins. and 10 hours/36 mins. to 14 hours/24 mins., a 45% increase. DRX technology creates a cycle during which the user equipment (smartphone) takes a break from continuously monitoring the Physical Downlink Control Channel, which carries the data and control signals needed by the smartphone. While this system helps to reduce battery drain during the ‘break’ cycles, if the data channel is trying to send data while the receiver is ‘resting’, the system misses that data segment, resulting in an average data loss of 0.06% in South Korea. While that seems small, if your video freezes or jumps, it can be considered important.
The C-DRX technology, which keeps the transmission ‘sleep/awake’ cycles coordinated between the sender and the receiver, holds the ‘send’ transmission when the receiver is ‘sleeping’, and releases that information and data when the receiver wakes up. Of course these cycles are extremely short, but the ‘off time’ adds up, and becomes the key to extending battery life, without changing the battery composition. Applications such as news, social networking, advertising, and location confirmation, regularly poll networks for information and lead to continuous battery drain, often not understood by users, but the use of such newer LTE technologies can significantly reduce that drain without significant data loss, and on a general basis, C-DRX can result in a 15% - 20% reduction in power usage while web browsing and even greater reductions when used for streaming video.
[i] Discontinuous Reception
By using the new technology, called C-DRX (Connected Mode Discontinuous Reception), KT says it was able to increase the life of a Galaxy S8 battery that was running continuous streaming videos, from between 9 hours/57 mins. and 10 hours/36 mins. to 14 hours/24 mins., a 45% increase. DRX technology creates a cycle during which the user equipment (smartphone) takes a break from continuously monitoring the Physical Downlink Control Channel, which carries the data and control signals needed by the smartphone. While this system helps to reduce battery drain during the ‘break’ cycles, if the data channel is trying to send data while the receiver is ‘resting’, the system misses that data segment, resulting in an average data loss of 0.06% in South Korea. While that seems small, if your video freezes or jumps, it can be considered important.
The C-DRX technology, which keeps the transmission ‘sleep/awake’ cycles coordinated between the sender and the receiver, holds the ‘send’ transmission when the receiver is ‘sleeping’, and releases that information and data when the receiver wakes up. Of course these cycles are extremely short, but the ‘off time’ adds up, and becomes the key to extending battery life, without changing the battery composition. Applications such as news, social networking, advertising, and location confirmation, regularly poll networks for information and lead to continuous battery drain, often not understood by users, but the use of such newer LTE technologies can significantly reduce that drain without significant data loss, and on a general basis, C-DRX can result in a 15% - 20% reduction in power usage while web browsing and even greater reductions when used for streaming video.
[i] Discontinuous Reception
RSS Feed