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：文献中一致认为，基站切换是应对蜂窝网络能耗骤增的可行方案。虽然文献中已经有许多研究通过基站切换来解决能耗问题，其中小负载基站会被关闭并将其负载转移到相邻基站或宏站，但在地面通信网络中，当存在基础设施缺乏或需求过高时，这些方法可能并不可行。将非地面网络（NTN）集成到基站切换过程中可以视为应对此问题的一种前瞻性方法。在这方面，由于其大面积覆盖，高容量和普遍连接等特点，高空平台站（HAPS）备受关注。这项研究的目的是展示使用HAPS来实现基站切换的潜在好处，通过成为基站切换操作中可卸载用户的丰富主机。更具体地，将HAPS加入到网络中，以增加切换关机机会并提供其他覆盖范围和容量。仿真结果表明，在确保服务质量（QoS）要求的同时，可以实现显著的能耗降低（高达16％）。