Energy Consumption Analysis on Integrated Access and Backhaul Networks

Integrated access and backhaul (IAB) networks leverage key characteristics of 5th generation networks, providing high-quality and reliable connections. This is achieved by efficiently utilizing the newly available millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum for backhaul, leading to easier implementation and lower costs compared to other solutions. However, these improvements come with an associated energy consumption cost, which must be carefully considered in network planning to ensure sustainability. To assess the impact of transmit power on quality of service (QoS) and network planning, base station deployment optimization is performed for an IAB-enabled network, considering different transmit power values for both macro base station and small base station. The results indicate that reducing transmit power does not necessarily lead to a decrease in QoS. Although coverage is negatively impacted, the trade-off between coverage and energy efficiency strongly favors solutions with lower energy consumption.