A Comprehensive Analysis of the Impact of an Increase in User Devices on the Long-Term Energy Efficiency of 5G Networks

The global deployment of fifth-generation (5G) mobile networks, especially in urban cities, is dedicated to accommodating the demand for high data rates and reliable wireless communications. While the latest 5G networks improve service quality, the support for a simultaneous serving of more user devices (UDs) with higher data rates than previous mobile network generations will require a massive installation of different 5G base station (BS) types dominantly in urban cities. Besides contributing to the smart city service improvements, this massive installation of heterogeneous 5G BSs will also contribute to the increase in 5G network energy consumption (EC) and carbon dioxide emissions. Since this increase in installed 5G BSs imposes environmental and economic challenges, this paper analyzes the impact of the continuously rising number of 5G UDs on the energy efficiency (EE) of the radio part of Croatian and Dutch 5G networks as example cases in the period of 2020s. Analyses consider the countries’ rural, suburban, urban, and dense urban UD density areas by utilizing the proposed simulation framework for the EE evaluation of 5G heterogeneous networks (HetNet) valued through standardized mobile networks EE metrics. The study examines four proposed BS installation and operation scenarios for reducing energy costs of 5G networks that differ in optimizing energy consumption via different BS installations, sleep modes, and transmission power scaling techniques. The obtained results indicate that dynamic adaptation of BS deployments and radio resource management during operation according to the increase in the number of UDs and corresponding DVs can enhance 5G HetNet EE. The findings provide valuable insights for mobile network operators looking to optimize 5G network EE in the upcoming decade.