How much power does 5G consume?
When base stations, data centers and devices are added together, telecommunications will consume more than 20% of the world''s electricity by 2025, says Huawei analyst Dr. Anders
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.
“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 lurking threat behind the promise of 5G delivering up to 1,000 times as much data as today's networks is that 5G could also consume up to 1,000 times as much energy,” Dexter Johnson in the IEEE Spectrum. Why?
Edge compute facilities needed to support local processing and new internet of things (IoT) services will also add to overall network power usage. Exact estimates differ by source, but MTN says the industry consensus is that 5G will double to triple energy consumption for mobile operators, once networks scale.
PDF version includes complete article with source references. Suitable for printing and offline reading.
Download detailed specifications, case studies, and technical data sheets for our ESS containers and containerized PV systems.
15 Rue des Énergies Renouvelables
Paris 75015, France
+33 1 84 83 72 76
Monday - Friday: 8:30 AM - 6:30 PM CET