{"id":17904,"date":"2020-09-07T15:22:56","date_gmt":"2020-09-07T22:22:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/?p=17904"},"modified":"2020-09-07T15:22:56","modified_gmt":"2020-09-07T22:22:56","slug":"5g-towers-are-consuming-a-lot-of-energy-so-china-unicom-is-putting-some-to-sleep-overnight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/?p=17904","title":{"rendered":"5G towers are consuming a lot of Energy, so China Unicom is putting some to sleep overnight"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"yiv5738171288generic-article__body yiv5738171288article-details-type--p yiv5738171288content--p\">A recent white paper from telecom equipment maker Huawei illustrates the problem: 5G base stations <strong>use up to three-and-a-half times more energy<\/strong> than 4G infrastructure. Part of the problem is that this new generation of mobile connectivity requires more densely placed base stations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"yiv5738171288generic-article__body yiv5738171288article-details-type--p yiv5738171288content--p\">So as China has been rapidly rolling out new 5G base stations, reaching 410,000 nationwide in June, some cities are <strong>putting the ones they have to sleep to save energy<\/strong> because there are not enough users yet&#8230;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv5738171288generic-article__body yiv5738171288article-details-type--p yiv5738171288content--p\">As 5G connectivity spreads, some researchers argue that the technology\u2019s environmental impact, which includes energy and waste problems, is being overlooked. &#8230;<\/p>\n<div>\u201cEnergy consumption is set to increase dramatically if 5G is deployed in the same way as 3G and 4G were,\u201d Ericsson CTO Erik Ekudden said in the report.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<div>\n<div>\n<h1 class=\"info__headline headline\" data-v-179ac1eb=\"\">5G towers are consuming a lot of energy, so China Unicom is putting some of them to sleep overnight<\/h1>\n<div class=\"info__subHeadline\" data-v-179ac1eb=\"\">\n<ul class=\"generic-article__summary--ul content--ul\" data-v-7092c704=\"\" data-v-179ac1eb=\"\">\n<li class=\"generic-article__summary--li content--li\" data-v-7092c704=\"\">China Unicom decided to put some 5G base stations to sleep between 9pm and 9am, prompting concern from users<\/li>\n<li class=\"generic-article__summary--li content--li\" data-v-7092c704=\"\">5G energy consumption is an environmental problem that\u2019s being overlooked, some experts say<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-v-59ed02ba=\"\" data-v-179ac1eb=\"\">\n<div data-v-59ed02ba=\"\">\n<div data-v-59ed02ba=\"\">\n<div class=\"details__body body\" data-v-179ac1eb=\"\">\n<div data-v-179ac1eb=\"\">\n<p class=\"generic-article__body article-details-type--p content--p\" data-v-7092c704=\"\" data-v-179ac1eb=\"\">When people talk about 5G, they\u2019re often talking about the enormous boost in speed you\u2019ll get from using the new mobile network technology. What many people don\u2019t realise, though, is that it\u2019s also expending a lot more energy for Chinese telecom companies.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-v-179ac1eb=\"\">\n<p class=\"generic-article__body article-details-type--p content--p\" data-v-7092c704=\"\" data-v-179ac1eb=\"\">At the beginning of August, a China Unicom branch announced that it would put some of its ZTE 5G base stations to sleep between 9pm and 9am to reduce electricity costs in the city of Luoyang.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-v-179ac1eb=\"\">\n<p class=\"generic-article__body article-details-type--p content--p\" data-v-7092c704=\"\" data-v-179ac1eb=\"\">A recent white paper from telecom equipment maker Huawei illustrates the problem: 5G base stations use up to three-and-a-half times more energy than 4G infrastructure. Part of the problem is that this new generation of mobile connectivity requires more densely placed base stations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-v-179ac1eb=\"\">\n<p class=\"generic-article__body article-details-type--p content--p\" data-v-7092c704=\"\" data-v-179ac1eb=\"\">So as China has been rapidly rolling out new 5G base stations, reaching 410,000 nationwide in June, some cities are putting the ones they have to sleep to save energy because there aren\u2019t enough users yet.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-v-179ac1eb=\"\">\n<div class=\"generic-article__body article-details-type--outstream-1 content--outstream-1\" data-v-7092c704=\"\" data-v-179ac1eb=\"\">\n<div class=\"div-outstream-ad-container\">\n<div id=\"div-outstream-ad-42386670-f158-11ea-b578-f529fd820acf\" class=\"inner\" data-google-query-id=\"CJWxtvKJ2OsCFfU1rQYdFRwFIg\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/8134\/scmp\/web\/abacus_tech\/article\/outstream1_0__container__\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"details__read-more\" data-v-179ac1eb=\"\">\n<div class=\"\" data-v-59ed02ba=\"\" data-v-179ac1eb=\"\">\n<div data-v-59ed02ba=\"\">\n<div data-v-59ed02ba=\"\">\n<div class=\"details__body body body--next\" data-v-179ac1eb=\"\">\n<div class=\"paywalled-content\" data-v-179ac1eb=\"\">\n<div data-v-179ac1eb=\"\">\n<p class=\"generic-article__body article-details-type--p content--p\" data-v-7092c704=\"\" data-v-179ac1eb=\"\">But Unicom, one of the country\u2019s three state-owned telecom companies, is trying to assure users that they aren\u2019t likely to see any change in service. \u201cThere\u2019s no need to make a fuss,\u201d said China Unicom CEO Wang Xiaochu.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-v-179ac1eb=\"\"><\/div>\n<div data-v-179ac1eb=\"\">\n<p class=\"generic-article__body article-details-type--p content--p\" data-v-7092c704=\"\" data-v-179ac1eb=\"\">\u201cShutting down base stations is not a manual shutdown, but an automatic adjustment made at a certain time, which has no impact on consumers and is good for investors,\u201d Wang said, according to local media reports.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-v-179ac1eb=\"\">\n<div class=\"imageContainer generic-article__body article-details-type--p content--p\" data-v-7092c704=\"\" data-v-179ac1eb=\"\">\n<div class=\"generic-article__body article-details-type--img content--img caption\" data-v-4c59f915=\"\" data-v-7092c704=\"\" data-resolution=\"2\">\n<div class=\"body__image image\" data-v-4c59f915=\"\">\n<div class=\"image_wrapper wrapper\" data-v-4c59f915=\"\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"description-wrapper\" data-v-4c59f915=\"\">\n<div class=\"wrapper-item\" data-v-4c59f915=\"\">\n<div class=\"image__title\" data-v-4c59f915=\"\">Users in China have started subscribing to 5G services, but many are concerned about patchy availability. Photo: EPA-EFE<\/div>\n<div data-v-179ac1eb=\"\">\n<p class=\"generic-article__body article-details-type--p content--p\" data-v-7092c704=\"\" data-v-179ac1eb=\"\">Wang\u2019s comments came after news of the base station hibernation had some people questioning whether it was worth it to pay for 5G subscriptions if the stations won\u2019t be accessible at certain hours. Unicom maintains that it isn\u2019t a problem because hibernation schedules change according to need.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-v-179ac1eb=\"\"><\/div>\n<div data-v-179ac1eb=\"\">\n<p class=\"generic-article__body article-details-type--p content--p\" data-v-7092c704=\"\" data-v-179ac1eb=\"\">Li Fuchang, deputy director of the wireless networks research department at China Unicom\u2019s Network Technology Research Institute, said that the hibernation function of the active array units (AAU) turns off the power supply when a base station is idle. This happens when there are no 5G users connected.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-v-179ac1eb=\"\">\n<div class=\"js-reading-50-percent-completion-tracker generic-article__body article-details-type--reading-50-percent-completion-tracker content--reading-50-percent-completion-tracker\" data-v-7092c704=\"\" data-v-179ac1eb=\"\" data-gtm-vis-first-on-screen-8001567_197=\"47791\" data-gtm-vis-total-visible-time-8001567_197=\"100\" data-gtm-vis-has-fired-8001567_197=\"1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-v-179ac1eb=\"\">\n<div class=\"generic-article__body article-details-type--p content--p\" data-v-7092c704=\"\" data-v-179ac1eb=\"\">By adjusting the hibernation according to real-time data, operators can significantly reduce electricity and maintenance costs, Li recently<\/p>\n<div class=\"generic-article__body article-details-type--a content--a\" data-v-5f87d536=\"\" data-v-7092c704=\"\"><a class=\"link-text\" href=\"http:\/\/www.xinhuanet.com\/local\/2020-08\/12\/c_1126355753.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noFollow noopener\" data-v-5f87d536=\"\"><span class=\"text\" data-v-5f87d536=\"\">told<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<p>Science and Technology Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-v-179ac1eb=\"\">\n<div data-v-179ac1eb=\"\">\n<p class=\"generic-article__body article-details-type--p content--p\" data-v-7092c704=\"\" data-v-179ac1eb=\"\">\u201cWhen the base station is normally enabled, compared with the peak period, the energy consumption of the base station in the latter half of the night is not much reduced,\u201d he said \u201cHowever, most of the energy consumption is \u2018ineffective energy consumption\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-v-179ac1eb=\"\">\n<div class=\"generic-article__body article-details-type--a content--a\" data-v-5f87d536=\"\" data-v-7092c704=\"\">\n<div data-v-5f87d536=\"\">\n<div class=\"recirc\" data-v-4927f5a7=\"\" data-v-5f87d536=\"\">\n<div class=\"recirc__left left\" data-v-4927f5a7=\"\">\n<div class=\"left__title\" data-v-4927f5a7=\"\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-v-179ac1eb=\"\">\n<div class=\"generic-article__body article-details-type--p content--p\" data-v-7092c704=\"\" data-v-179ac1eb=\"\">China first launched what it called the world\u2019s largest 5G network at the<\/p>\n<div class=\"generic-article__body article-details-type--a content--a\" data-v-5f87d536=\"\" data-v-7092c704=\"\"><span class=\"text\" data-v-5f87d536=\"\"><a class=\"link-text\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/abacus\/tech\/article\/3036023\/5g-available-now-china-just-us18\" data-v-5f87d536=\"\">end of last year<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>with subsidized plans. The technology is meant to herald the arrival of ultra-fast wireless broadband internet, but availability remains limited.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-v-179ac1eb=\"\"><\/div>\n<div data-v-179ac1eb=\"\">\n<p class=\"generic-article__body article-details-type--p content--p\" data-v-7092c704=\"\" data-v-179ac1eb=\"\">As 5G connectivity spreads, some researchers argue that the technology\u2019s environmental impact, which includes energy and waste problems, is being overlooked.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-v-179ac1eb=\"\">\n<p class=\"generic-article__body article-details-type--p content--p\" data-v-7092c704=\"\" data-v-179ac1eb=\"\">Thanks to its wide roll-out, China is one of the first countries that will have to tackle this issue. But eventually the problem will be global.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-v-179ac1eb=\"\">\n<p class=\"generic-article__body article-details-type--p content--p\" data-v-7092c704=\"\" data-v-179ac1eb=\"\">Telecommunications equipment giant Ericsson warned in a report published in March that the communications technology industry will need to lower total mobile network energy consumption while facing massive traffic growth. Energy-saving software, replacing old equipment and using artificial intelligence can help achieve this, according to the report.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-v-179ac1eb=\"\">\n<p class=\"generic-article__body article-details-type--p content--p\" data-v-7092c704=\"\" data-v-179ac1eb=\"\">But operators will also have to change how they did business in the past.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-v-179ac1eb=\"\">\n<p class=\"generic-article__body article-details-type--p content--p\" data-v-7092c704=\"\" data-v-179ac1eb=\"\">\u201cEnergy consumption is set to increase dramatically if 5G is deployed in the same way as 3G and 4G were,\u201d Ericsson CTO Erik Ekudden said in the report.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><span class=\"yiv5738171288Object\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/abacus\/tech\/article\/3098964\/5g-towers-are-consuming-lot-energy-so-china-unicom-putting-some-them\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/abacus\/tech\/article\/3098964\/5g-towers-are-consuming-lot-energy-so-china-unicom-putting-some-them<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A recent white paper from telecom equipment maker Huawei illustrates the problem: 5G base stations use up to three-and-a-half times more energy than 4G infrastructure. Part of the problem is that this new generation of mobile connectivity requires more densely placed base stations. So as China has been rapidly rolling out new 5G base stations, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[418],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17904","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-china"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17904","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17904"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17904\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17905,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17904\/revisions\/17905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}