5G is more energy efficient than 4G technology, claims Nokia

A research study found the 5G networks are up to 90 percent more energy-efficient per traffic unit than the legacy 4G networks.

Nokia and Telefónica conducted a 5G research study. This study helps both companies to reach a goal to limit global warming to 1.5 Celsius and affirms their commitment to climate change, notes the announcement.

President of Mobile Networks at Nokia, Tommi Uitto, said, "Our greatest contribution to overcoming the world’s sustainability challenges is through the solutions and technology we develop and provide. We place huge importance on this. Nokia’s technology is designed to be energy efficient during use but also require less energy during manufacture. This important study highlights how mobile operators can offset energy gains during their rollouts helping them to be more environmentally responsible while allowing them to achieve significant cost savings."

Director of Operational Transformation at Global CTIO, Telefónica, Juan Manuel Caro, said, "We are committed to supporting action on climate change and engender a sustainable culture throughout our entire company. We are proud to work collaboratively with Nokia on this project and others to address a range of initiatives including driving energy efficiencies in the 5G era."

The study was conducted over a three months period. It looked into the power consumption of the Radio Access Network (RAN) in Telefónica’s network. The 5G technology will increase overall network traffic tremendously but it is important that the energy consumption does not increase in the same proportion, notes the announcement.

The conclusion of the study is that the 5G RAN technology is more energy-efficient than legacy technologies for energy consumption per data traffic capacity with several hardware and software features helping to save energy. Nokia’s AirScale Base Stations and AirScale Massive MIMO Active Antenna solutions were leveraged in the research study.