Massive 5G Electricity Costs are in Focus Ahead
For example, as an initial 5G buildout, a Chinese operator recently added 100,000 5G ready base station sites averaging 10kW each
Setting up a 5G base station is expensive, with costs ranging from $100,000 to $200,000 per site. This price includes hardware, installation, site rental, and maintenance. Urban areas often have higher costs due to land prices and infrastructure challenges.
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).
Currently, three percent of the world's energy demand comes from wireless communications (4). Telecom providers expect their energy costs to increase by 150-170 percent by 2026 with the advent of 5G technology, according to a study by Vertiv, a U.S. network service provider. That's almost a threefold increase compared to 4G (5).
Fiber optic networks are the backbone of 5G infrastructure, providing the high-speed data transfer needed to support ultra-fast connectivity. However, laying fiber is expensive, with costs ranging from $25,000 to $100,000 per kilometer, depending on location, terrain, and construction regulations.
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