Method and apparatus for saving power consumption of base station in communication system

A method of a first base station, the method comprising:

• determining whether there is a second base station in a power-off state, which belongs to a first area in a cell coverage of the first base station which is set by a plurality of areas, when a user equipment (UE) activity in the first area exceeds a threshold;
• transmitting a first message, which indicates a power-on of the second base station, to the second base station, when there is the second base station;
• receiving a second message, which indicates that the second base station is in a power-on state, from the second base station;
• and
• initiating a handover procedure to allow a terminal, which is located in the first area and is connected to the first base station, to be handed over to the second base station,
• wherein the first base station uses a first frequency, and the second base station uses a second frequency, and
• wherein the second base station includes a mobile terminal (MT) and a base station unit (BSU), the first message is a paging message transmitted to the MT of the second base station, and the MT controls the BSU of the second base station to power on the BSU based on the first message.

A first base station comprising a processor, wherein the processor causes the first base station to:

• determine whether there is a second base station in a power-off state, which belongs to a first area in a cell coverage of the first base station which is set by a plurality of areas, when a user equipment (UE) activity in the first area exceeds a threshold;
• transmit a first message, which indicates a power-on of the second base station, to the second base station, when there is the second base station;
• receive a second message, which indicates that the second base station is in a power-on state, from the second base station;
• and
• initiate a handover procedure to allow a terminal, which is located in the first area and is connected to the first base station, to be handed over to the second base station,
• wherein the first base station uses a first frequency, and the second base station uses a second frequency, and
• wherein the second base station includes a mobile terminal (MT) and a base station unit (BSU), the first message is a paging message transmitted to the MT of the second base station, and the MT controls the BSU of the second base station to power on the BSU based on the first message.