How Technical Variations in 5G Network Planning for Urban Areas Impact Carbon Footprint: A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Approach

This study aims to address the question of how technical variations in 5G network planning in urban areas impact carbon footprint emissions. In order to answer the question, this study simulated the carbon footprint impact of 5G network design in the city of Depok, Indonesia, through scenarios of variation in three technical parameters: bandwidth, modulation, and MIMO antenna configuration (V-layer). The analysis focuses on the specific global warming potential (GWP) over a 20-year horizon, serving as the key parameter in assessing environmental impact. The findings reveal that increasing throughput per site significantly reduces the carbon footprint of passive tower components. In Scenario #1, wider bandwidths yield substantial reductions in carbon emissions, as increasing bandwidth from 20 MHz to 100 MHz reduces the carbon footprint by 81.40%. Scenario #2 demonstrates the effectiveness of higher-order modulations, such as 256QAM, in reducing carbon emissions. Transitioning from QPSK to 256QAM achieves a 75.00% reduction in carbon footprint. The results reveal a clear trend: as throughput per site increases, the carbon footprint of the passive 5G tower component decreases. However, Scenario #3 highlights a trade-off between energy consumption and antenna configuration, as higher MIMO configurations require more energy. These results signified the importance of optimizing bandwidth and modulation in 5G network design to minimize environmental impact, providing actionable insights for network operators aiming to integrate sustainability into their strategies.