Systems, devices, and configurations to implement ESM (energy saving management) techniques in wireless networks are generally disclosed herein. In some examples, a distributed or centralized multi-RAT (radio access technology) technique is provided to implement ESM on a LTE (Long Term Evolution) or UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) primary cell network. The technique may factor the number of UEs unable to be offloaded to another RAT (such as a Wi-Fi network), and the service impact threshold of implementing ESM on the primary wireless network. In further examples, an ESM deployment may factor the idle mode state of UEs (user equipment) in determining whether to proceed with ESM activation at a particular time on a particular cell network.