Red Hat & Softbank Partner to Optimise AI Power Consumption

The telecoms industry is under growing pressure to balance rising data demand with increasing energy costs and environmental concerns. 

As 5G and 6G networks develop, integrating AI into network infrastructure presents both opportunities and challenges around enhancing performance while significantly increasing power consumption.

AI is improving data processing, storage and security in data centres, but the Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) required for AI workloads consume five to ten times more power than traditional computing hardware. 

This presents new challenges for network operators. Addressing this, SoftBank and Red Hat have collaborated on a system to monitor and optimise power consumption in data centres running virtualised Radio Access Networks (vRAN) and AI applications.

SoftBank’s AI-RAN expansion drives energy efficiency

SoftBank has integrated the new solution into its AI and Telecom Radio Access System (AITRAS) platform, a converged AI-RAN system. Using an orchestration tool, the system allocates computing resources based on real-time power usage data, improving energy efficiency.

AITRAS embodies SoftBank’s approach to combining AI capabilities with traditional mobile networks on a unified computing platform. 

The company is rolling out AITRAS as part of its strategy to establish GPU-equipped data centres across Japan. These centres aim to enhance mobile network performance while supporting various AI-driven applications.

However, running AI applications alongside vRAN requires substantial electrical power. 

This challenge comes amid increasing pressure to adopt renewable energy and reduce carbon emissions from fossil fuels. Additionally, the concentration of data centres in major Japanese cities places strain on power grids, increasing the need for distributed energy load management.

In response, SoftBank and Red Hat have collaborated to create a power optimisation system, building on their joint research into AI-RAN technology that began in November 2024.

Red Hat OpenShift and Kepler power monitoring

The power monitoring system is based on the Kepler project, which Red Hat has integrated into its OpenShift container platform. 

Kepler runs in Kubernetes environments – an open-source system that automates the deployment and management of containerised applications.

Kepler collects power consumption data from servers within data centre clusters and individual applications. This data is then fed into the AITRAS Orchestrator software, which SoftBank has enhanced by incorporating Kepler into its virtualisation infrastructure built on Red Hat OpenShift.

One of Kepler’s key functions is estimating power consumption based on GPU usage. It accounts for resources divided using Multi-Instance GPU (MIG) technology, which allows a single GPU to be split into smaller virtual GPUs. This enables more efficient power allocation across workloads.

By incorporating Kepler, the AITRAS Orchestrator can now consider real-time power usage when assigning AI applications to resources. Previously, it only factored in data centre location, application priority and GPU allocation size. This advancement allows for more precise energy management.

Optimising AI applications with real-time energy data

The enhanced AITRAS Orchestrator dynamically assigns AI workloads to the most efficient resources. It optimises resource allocation in several ways, including:

• Multi-cluster environments – The system monitors power consumption across clusters and assigns applications to those with lower power usage.
• Power consumption limits – Each cluster has predefined energy thresholds, ensuring workloads do not exceed set limits.
• Renewable energy integration – The system considers renewable energy availability and carbon intensity, enabling applications to be deployed based on environmental impact.

SoftBank and Red Hat demonstrated this technology at Mobile World Congress Barcelona 2025.

Ryuji Wakikawa, Vice President and Head of the Research Institute of Advanced Technology at SoftBank Corp, underscores the significance of AI-powered energy management: “Electricity and telecommunications services continue to grow as critical infrastructure that supports society. 

“By monitoring and predicting power consumption AITRAS optimises equipment from an energy efficiency perspective while reducing risks through distributed deployment. The integration of telecommunications and power infrastructure paves the way for the future of AI-driven infrastructure.”

Chris Wright, Chief Technology Officer and Senior Vice President of Global Engineering at Red Hat, highlights the broader implications: “Red Hat and SoftBank are committed to supporting the future of 5G and 6G use cases by bringing the combined power of AI and RAN to network orchestration and optimisation. 

“With Red Hat OpenShift as a common platform, AI-RAN offers a pioneering approach to network operations for service providers to harness AI for improved resource efficiency and more sustainable power consumption, as well as supporting AI-enabled workloads across network environments.”

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