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.
Also, NextGalliance published a report with the below figure clearly illustrates that the RAN consumes the most power. Although RAN power consumption is reduced in 5G, it is still over 50% of the total 5G network infrastructure consumption. Another trend worth noting is the rise in data center power consumption in 5G.
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).
Data shows the power of the BBU is relatively stable and is affected very little by the workload, while AAU is opposite, with power consumption growing as the load increases. With S111 configuration and 100% load, the power consumption of a single station can even reach 3852.5W.
Despite improvements in energy efficiency, the RAN continues to consume more power than any other part of the network. This is due largely to new technology like mmWave transceivers and MIMO antennas, all of which require more power. Power Consumption of 4G and 5G Networks How can 5G reduce power consumption Vs. 4G
A 5G base station is mainly composed of the baseband unit (BBU) and the AAU — in 4G terms, the AAU is the remote radio unit (RRU) plus antenna. The role of the BBU is to handle baseband digital signal processing, while the AAU converts the baseband digital signal into an analog signal, and then modulates it into a high-frequency radio signal.
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