There is a consensus in the literature that cell-switching is a viable solution to tackle the draconian increase in the energy consumption of cellular networks. Although the literature is full of works addressing the energy consumption problem via cell-switching, where small cells with low or no load are turned off and the traffic is offloaded to either adjacent base stations or macro cells, in terrestrial communication networks, they may not be feasible when there is either a lack of infrastructure or insufficient capacity due to high demand. The integration of non-terrestrial networks (NTN) into the cell-switching process can be considered as a visionary approach to handle this problem. In this regard, high altitude platform station (HAPS) draws considerable attention with its massive footprint, high capacity, and ubiquitous connectivity. The aim of this study is to show the potential benefits of using HAPS in cell-switching methods by being a bountiful host for offloaded users from cell-switching operations. More specifically, HAPS is included in the network so that it can increase the switching off opportunities by providing extra coverage and capacity. The simulation results demonstrate that a significant amount of reduction in energy consumption (as high as 16%) is obtained while ensuring quality-of-service (QoS) requirements.

翻译：文献中普遍认为，小区切换是解决蜂窝网络能耗急剧增加问题的可行方案。尽管已有大量研究通过小区切换（即关闭低负载或无负载的小小区，将流量卸载至相邻基站或宏小区）来解决能耗问题，但在地面通信网络中，当基础设施不足或因高需求导致容量不够时，此类方法可能不可行。将非地面网络（NTN）融入小区切换过程可视为应对该问题的前瞻性思路。在此背景下，高空平台站（HAPS）凭借其超广覆盖范围、高容量和泛在连接能力备受关注。本研究旨在揭示HAPS在小区切换方法中的潜在优势：通过为小区切换操作中的卸载用户提供充足接纳能力，HAPS被纳入网络后可凭借其额外覆盖与容量提升基站关闭的机会。仿真结果表明，在确保服务质量（QoS）要求的前提下，该方法能显著降低能耗（降幅高达16%）。