Can network energy saving technologies mitigate 5G energy consumption?

This technical report explores how network energy saving technologies that have emerged since the 4G era, such as carrier shutdown, channel shutdown, symbol shutdown etc., can be leveraged to mitigate 5G energy consumption.

How do engineers design 5G base stations?

Engineers designing 5G base stations must contend with energy use, weight, size, and heat, which impact design decisions. 5G New Radio (NR) uses Multi-User massive-MIMO (MU-MIMO), Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB), and beamforming with millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum up to 71 GHz.

Why is low 5G energy consumption important?

With new devices and use cases increasing the capacity of the networks, the demand to ensure low 5G energy consumption is critical to minimizing operator expenses and ensuring they can still meet energy reduction goals. How can NR bring an answer? Figure 1: Global mobile data traffic outlook [Ericsson Mobility Report, June 2019].

Does 5G gnodeb need a heat sink?

A power-supply unit suitable for 5G gNodeB installations requires a heat sink. Power consumption is one major reason for these changes. Electricity currently is 5% to 6% of a mobile operator’s opex, according to MTN Consulting [Ref. 1].

Is a 5G energy saving solution enough?

It also analyses how enhanced technologies like deep sleep, symbol aggregation shutdown etc., have been developing in the 5G era. This report aims to detail these fundamentals. However, it is far away from being enough, a revolutionized energy saving solution should be taken into consideration.

Does 5G increase energy consumption?

5G is the most advanced cellular technology in commercial deployment of our era. While 5G offers much faster speed, massive connections and much lower latency, and would enable a much bigger variety of new applications for both people’s lives and vertical industries, it does increase the energy consumption of the cellular networks.