Jun 3, 2025 · Explore the inner workings of 5G base stations, the critical infrastructure enabling high-speed, low-latency wireless connectivity. Discover their components, architecture,
That’s almost a threefold increase compared to 4G (5). One 5G base station is estimated to consume about as much power as 73 households (6), and 3x as much as the previous generation of base stations (5), (7).
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.
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).
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.
In order to ensure the signal strength, the power must be increased. In order not to be blocked by walls, many base stations must be densely placed in the cell to avoid being blocked by too many walls. If you want to enjoy the high speed of the 5G era, you have to increase the number of base stations more than ten times or even hundreds of times.
Because no matter where you live in any community, there are densely packed base stations. There are 50 base stations in one square kilometer, and you can’t avoid them. At that time, the street lamps, power poles and billboards you saw were probably 5G base stations in disguise. There is no way to avoid it.
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