How much energy does a 5G small cell base station consume?

Simulation results reveal that more than 50% of the energy is consumed by the computation power at 5G small cell base stations (BSs). Moreover, the computation power of 5G small cell BS can approach 800 watt when the massive MIMO (e.g., 128 antennas) is deployed to transmit high volume traffic.

Are 5G base stations causing more energy consumption?

However, Li says 5G base stations are carrying five times the traffic as when equipped with only 4G, pushing up power consumption. The carrier is seeking subsidies from the Chinese government to help with the increased energy usage.

Is 5G more energy efficient than 4G?

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.

How much power does a 5G station use?

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.

Does China Mobile have a 5G base station?

China Mobile has tried using lower cost deployments of MIMO antennas, specifically 32T32R and sometimes 8T8R rather than 64T64R, according to MTN. However, Li says 5G base stations are carrying five times the traffic as when equipped with only 4G, pushing up power consumption.

How 5G cellular networks can improve data speed?

In 5G cellular networks, small cell BSs provide higher data speed rate with lower latency than the base line small cell BSs which leads to higher power consumption and lower power saving. To get higher data speed rate, enhanced Mobile Broadband is a new expected feature in 5G cellular networks.