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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.
“A 5G base station is generally expected to consume roughly three times as much power as a 4G base station. And more 5G base stations are needed to cover the same area,” -IEEE Spectrum, 5G's Waveform Is a Battery Vampire
A report from GSMA about 5G network cost suggests up to 140% more energy consumption than 4G . Energy saving measures in MNOs are needs rather than nice-to-have. What is more important is that sustainability has risen to the top of the agenda for many industries, including telecoms.
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.
The power consumption of a single 5G station is 2.5 to 3.5 times higher than that of a single 4G station. The main factor behind this increase in 5G power consumption is the high power usage of the active antenna unit (AAU). Under a full workload, a single station uses nearly 3700W.
Although the absolute value of the power consumption of 5G base stations is increasing, their energy efficiency ratio is much lower than that of 4G stations. In other words, with the same power consumption, the network capacity of 5G will be as dozens of times larger than 4G, so the power consumption per bit is sharply reduced.
The explosive growth of mobile data traffic has resulted in a significant increase in the energy consumption of 5G base stations (BSs).
However, this technological leap comes with a substantial increase in energy consumption. Compared to its predecessor, the fourth-generation (4G) network, the energy consumption of the 5G network is approximately three times higher .
Our research addresses the critical intersection of communication and power systems in the era of advanced information technologies. We highlight the strategic importance of communication base station placement, as its optimization is vital for minimizing operational disruptions in energy systems.
Recently, distributed generation has started to play a larger role in the distribution system supply. These are small-scale power generation technologies (typically in the range of 3–10,000 kW) used to provide an alternative to or an enhancement of the traditional electric power system.
The various systems described here will become increasingly integrated. These include the FDIR and Volt/VAR systems. As the FDIR system reconfigures the distribution system, the Volt/VAR system can then optimize the newly configured feeders.
Therefore, power systems and communication systems are increasingly coupled. A power system supplies energy, and a communication system meets the demand for information exchange. A BS is the main intermediary between a communication network and a power network.
Canada's provinces are responsible for generating their own electricity, with each province having distinct methods and suppliers. Below is a summary of power generation by province: Alberta: Powered by fossil fuels (coal and natural gas) through TransAlta, ENMAX, and Capital Power Corporation.
It consist of three part elements: one or more transceivers, several antenna mounted on a tower or building, power system, and air conditioning equipment. A base station can have between 1 and 16 transceivers, depending on geography and the demand for service of an area.
The shared tower is a new resource-sharing model in which a communication BS is added to a power tower, allowing the power line and BS to share a tower. Therefore, power systems and communication systems are increasingly coupled. A power system supplies energy, and a communication system meets the demand for information exchange.
Base station power refers to the output power level of base stations, which is defined by specific maximum limits (24 dBm for Local Area base stations and 20 dBm for Home base stations) and includes tolerances for deviation from declared power levels, as well as specifications for total power control dynamic range. How useful is this definition?