Patent ID: 8780742

Claim:
A method for reducing energy consumption in Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) cells of a mobile network, the method including: monitoring, using a Radio Network Controller (RNC), traffic conveyed in traffic channels of a WCDMA cell of the mobile network; analyzing certain predetermined parameters in the monitored traffic; determining whether said predetermined parameters meet corresponding predetermined conditions; and when said predetermined conditions are met, switching off continuous transmission of common channel control signaling at a normal rate and causing the WCDMA cell to enter a cell standby mode comprising one or more intermittent transmission events during each of which intermittent transmission of the common channel control signaling is facilitated in which the common channel control signaling is transmitted at the normal rate in a first plurality of consecutive frames then not transmitted in a subsequent second plurality of consecutive frames, whereby each of one or more mobile terminals in idle mode camped in the WCDMA cell and each of one or more mobile terminals in idle mode or connected mode in neighboring cells to the WCDMA cell is enabled to discover that the WCDMA cell has cell standby mode capabilities enabled or is in the cell standby mode.