The telecommunications industry needs to accelerate adoption of more energy-efficient network technologies as 5G networks expand globally, Ryan Ding, Huawei’s executive director and president of its Carrier Business Group, said in a keynote speech at the 2021 Global Mobile Broadband Forum (MBBF) in Dubai this week.
Ding said that 5G has become a new engine for the growth of the mobile industry, and that to adapt to the rapid growth of data traffic, the whole industry will need to keep pursuing innovations in power supply, distribution, use, and management, and build greener 5G networks with higher performance and lower energy consumption.
According to Ding, in countries where 5G is more accelerated, mobile operators who have invested heavily in this technology have seen remarkable returns, but he stressed that operators will realize business value only when the 5G user penetration rate is high enough.
“When the 5G user penetration rate reaches a threshold of 20%, rapid development of 5G will follow. In countries such as China, South Korea, and Kuwait, operators were quick to provide continuous nationwide coverage, giving users a consistent experience. They also offer flexible service packages, which delivers a win- win result for both users and themselves.”
Ding also noted that high-quality 5G networks will drive the rapid growth of mobile data traffic. It is estimated that the average data traffic per user per month will reach 600 GB by 2030.
Ding said that to cut the ICT industry’s greenhouse gas emissions by 45%, operators will need to pursue ongoing innovations in power supply, distribution, use, and management to build greener 5G networks with higher performance and lower energy consumption.
To tackle this issue, Huawei has developed the iSolar power supply solution that covers all scenarios, including poles, cabinets, sites, and equipment rooms. This solution can reduce the use of electricity from grids and fossil fuels by diesel generators and improve the energy mix that powers base stations, the Chinese vendor said.
Ding also said Huawei has already deployed low-carbon site solutions in more than 100 countries, including Saudi Arabia, Greece, Pakistan, and Switzerland, helping operators reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 40 million tons.
In related news, Huawei launched its GreenSite and PowerStar2.0 solutions to help operators build green, low-carbon 5G networks.
The GreenSite solution integrates architecture, site construction, and algorithms with software and hardware, improving energy efficiency by 20 times. The PowerStar2.0 solution introduces new intelligent energy-saving features to base stations and networks to reduce energy consumption by over 25% through multi-dimensional coordination under typical configurations.
“The growing demand for both toB and toC services leads to an explosive increase in data traffic. This highlights the importance of improving energy efficiency in building green low-carbon networks,” said Aaron Jiang, President of Huawei’s SRAN Product Line. “Huawei will continue to develop innovative solutions and bring intelligence to base stations to help operators build green, low-carbon 5G networks and achieve the carbon peak and neutrality goals,” Jiang said.
