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.

Why does 5G use more power than 4G?

The data here all comes from operators on the front lines, and we can draw the following valuable conclusions: 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).

Will 5G reduce energy consumption?

According to recent research, the ultra-lean design that 5G networks are capable of will make it possible to put more components to sleep for a longer time, reducing energy consumption by almost 10 times compared to current systems when there are no users.

Will MIMO increase the energy consumption of 5G base stations?

As a result, there are many more hardware components per base station. Björnson believes this will probably increase the total energy consumption of 5G base stations compared to 4G. But as massive MIMO technology develops, its energy efficiency may also improve over time.

How will 4G & 5G networks work?

In both 4G and future 5G networks, operators will probably run their base stations so they transmit at the maximum power allowed by their licenses, in order to maximize the coverage, according to Björnson.

Does 5G New Radio save energy?

Emerging use cases and devices demand higher capacity from today’s mobile networks, leading to increasingly dense network deployments. In this post, we explore the energy saving features of 5G New Radio and how this enables operators to build denser networks, meet performance demands and maintain low 5G energy consumption.