Smartphone batteries could last up to 50% longer if MNOs built more towers, claims a new report from. The second claim is that this densification would also improve the energy use of the network by 66%. A team of researchers from the University of California, modeled what would happen if larger base stations were replaced with multiple smaller ones – to counter the wasted signals that are lost to absorption, reflection, and scattering. Academic studies are often leapt upon by those in the industry, and roundly criticized for not being grounded in commercial reality. The findings from this report suggest that accelerating densification via small cells should be an environmental priority, but those who are responsible for siting such new…