China Tower is a world-leading tower provider that builds, maintains, and operates site support infrastructure such as telecommunication towers, high-speed rail, subway systems,. In Hangzhou, the 5G Power solution deployed by China Tower and Huawei supports one cabinet for one site and boasts smart features like intelligent peak shaving, intelligent voltage boosting, and intelligent energy storage. China Tower and Huawei conducted joint pilot verification in 2018 and found that the 5G Power solution could support effective 5G site deployment without changing the grid, power distribution or cabinets. This in turn could cut retrofitting costs for a single site by more than.
In terms of energy consumption, 5G base stations require continuous operation and stability, which leads to significant electricity consumption (Guo et al., 2022a). This power is mainly supplied by transmission equipment and auxiliary equipment, such as transformers, UPS power supplies, and cooling equipment.
In 2019, the 5G Power solution won ITU's Global Industry Award for Sustainable Impact. For operators, it provides a replicable power solution that can slash site retrofitting costs. 5G Power is based on intelligent technologies like peak shaving, voltage boosting, and energy storage.
What are 5G base stations?
5G base stations are categorized into micro base stations, macro base stations, and indoor sub-systems based on their transmit power and coverage. As 5G operates at a higher frequency than 4G, its coverage capability is lower and the signal penetration is poor, causing significant signal attenuation.
The system boundary of the CO 2 of 5G base station The civil construction of 5G base stations is typically carried out using the existing infrastructure of 4G base stations, resulting in less material input during the construction phase. The primary focus on carbon emission generation is during the use phase due to power consumption.
Are 5G base stations sustainable?
However, due to their high radio frequency and limited coverage, the construction and operation of 5G base stations can lead to significant energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. To address this challenge, scholars have focused on developing sustainable 5G base stations.
As 5G serves as the foundation for the construction of new infrastructure, China, as the world leader in 5G base station construction, has already built over 1.4 million 5G base stations in 2021 alone. In the same year, 5G base stations in China produced approximately 49.2 million tons of CO 2 eq.