Study and analysis of runtime energy consumption in cellular 5G network: an empirical approach

Abstract This article presents an experimentation environment, empirical study and results of runtime energy consumption in 5th generation (5G) networks and discusses the potential solutions to enhance energy efficiency with radio access network (RAN) and application control. Further, the paper evaluates the actual power consumption of selected end user devices and applications in 5G RAN covering indoor small-cell installations and 5G outdoor macro sites. The evaluation setup utilized a state-of-the-art 5G radio access network (RAN) alongside efficient, accurate energy measurement equipment, measuring power consumption in live scenarios with selected video streams at varying bit rates to reflect advanced video streaming configurations. The outcome of the research shows that several enhancements, such as lower total energy consumption and longer end device battery life, are possible when advanced control is applied to the existing and future wireless mobile networks. The experimental results provide solid power consumption figures and lead to detailed reasons for the holistic view of energy enhancements covering the overall end-to-end data path including the end user devices, RAN as well as edge and cloud infrastructure and applications—addressing these aspects at a scale not covered in earlier studies. The increasing demand for high-quality digital services, particularly video streaming, presents significant challenges for reducing energy consumption in mobile networks; as these networks and services continue to grow, this study contributes to ongoing efforts to minimize their runtime energy consumption.