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    Home5G & BeyondWe need to talk about mMIMO's power abuse and CO2 issues -...

    We need to talk about mMIMO’s power abuse and CO2 issues – analyst

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    ABI Research calls for intervention

    While 5G’s Massive Multiple Input Multiple Output (mMIMO) has received adulation from analysts and press, it has a downside that must be addressed, according to ABI Research. The hardware has rampant electricity consumption issue, says the US analyst. The power requirements of the technology compare badly against previous generations of Radio Access Technology (RAT) it says in a report. 

    The surge in power consumption and demand for more cell sites mean that equipment manufacturers must make the most sustainable products possible to improve efficiency and reduce energy-related OPEX and related emissions. A new report from global technology intelligence firm ABI Research spotlights how to make mMIMO more sustainable across the whole product lifecycle, from eco-design to product material choices to circular practices to sustainable manufacturing to responsible resource management.

    “With the demand for network connectivity showing no signs of slowing down, new generations of radio technology must be energy efficient without compromising network coverage and quality for the end users,” said Megan Young, Sustainable Technologies Industry Analyst at ABI Research.

    Granted, 5G is opening the door to connectivity, conceded Young. New bandwidths, low latency, and data transfer speeds up to 10 times that of LTE allow for more applications to be supported and the demand for fast 5G connectivity increases. The next thing that happens is that mMIMO adds a much higher number of antennas to 5G cell sites, which focuses energy for significant improvements in data throughput, coverage and efficiency, Young warned.  

    The good news is the condition could be cured with inventive designs and advanced technologies that improve energy efficiency. But these must be implemented to ensure the mMIMO antennas can uphold the network quality and capacity while reducing energy consumption at cell sites. Sustainable practices in design, development, manufacture, and deployment should also be put into operation to enable a more sustainable 5G network,” said Young.

    Many equipment makers are coming up with new solutions to the problem and creaticity mMIMO product portfolios are flourishing. There’s a sustainability competition driving the telecom building industry. Ericsson and Nokia are leading on sustainable development of mMIMO technology with energy-saving technologies, in-house silicon chipset creation hosting virtualized Radio Access Network (RAN) features and Industry 4.0 technology-enabled manufacturing plants. Some have been awarded lighthouse status by the World Economic Forum. 

    Nokia has implemented liquid cooling in some of its units, claiming that this system exchanges 4000 times more heat than air, cutting the power consumption by cooling by up to 90% and base station CO2 emissions by up to 80%. Huawei has released a wide range of mMIMO units to suit many different deployment scenarios, with an innovative material used in the products’ radomes, and ZTE has launched the world’s lightest mMIMO radio unit, at just 9kg.

    The problem remains that mMIMO is a power-hungry technology that need more units around it in a network to provide consistent coverage. Though transfers data more briskly than previous generations of RAN technology, equipment manufacturers must do all they can to reduce power consumption and improve the energy efficiency of the mMIMO units, the analyst insisted. “Responsibly managing resources, employing circular practices in design and manufacture, and implementing innovative technologies that reduce power consumption will all contribute to a more energy efficient product in a more sustainable network,” said Young.

    These findings are from ABI Research’s Telco Infrastructure Sustainability mMIMO Technology Review report. This report is part of the company’s Sustainable Technologies research service, which provides actionable research and data designed to help companies go from sustainability pledges to sustainability execution by identifying technologies, vendors, and programs that accelerate sustainability efforts, such as reducing carbon emissions and waste.