Pivotal Communications Pivotal Communications
  • Products
    • Echo 5G
    • Pivot 5G
    • IBMS
    • WaveScape
  • Pivotal Turnkey
    • Challenges
    • Use Cases
  • Technology
  • Resources
    • Datasheets
    • Match Game
    • Videos
    • White Papers
  • Conversation
    • Blog
    • News
    • Press Releases
  • Careers
    • Open Jobs
    • Working at Pivotal
  • About
    • Privacy Policy
  • Contact

Blog

Go Green with mmWave Repeaters


by Kent Lundgren, VP of Marketing

Carriers have always faced challenges and opportunities. Mobile ARPU (average revenue per user) has been declining for years. mmWave FWA provides a new source of wireless ARPU by outperforming cable and fiber.

But carriers are facing a new, perhaps more daunting challenge. Driven by billions of subscribers and IoT devices, 5G is expected to double or triple carriers’ energy costs. For the planet, experts debate whether 5G-enabled efficiency improvements can counteract the additional operational and embodiment energy required to power 5G. But one thing is clear: 30W mmWave repeaters reduce the need for kW+ mmWave base stations; thus, for a given coverage area, repeaters and base stations consume less energy — up to 44% — and emit less CO2 than base stations alone.

According to MTN Consulting, a typical 5G base station consumes up to twice or more the power of a 4G base station. China Mobile, which leads the world in 5G deployments, says its 5G base stations carry five times the traffic as 4G-only base stations, pushing up power consumption. The typical 5G site, claims Huawei, require over 11.5 kilowatts, up nearly 70% from a base station deploying a mix of 2G, 3G and 4G radios. 5G macro base stations often require several new, power-hungry components, including mmWave transceivers, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), faster data converters, high-power/low-noise amplifiers and integrated antennas.

For mmWave deployments where signal propagation is limited, an obvious way to reduce power consumption is to deploy fewer power-hungry base stations while using repeaters to preserve or expand coverage. Perhaps it’s too obvious to some. Ericsson advocates “building with precision” in “Breaking the Energy Curve: An Innovative Approach to Reducing Mobile Network Energy Use.” Its idea of precision, however, does not include selling fewer base stations.

mmWave repeaters save carriers money and network deployment time. But what do they do for the planet? Using only mmWave base stations, i.e., “gNBs,” to cover the top 300 cities in the U.S. will, at 1.2 kW each, consume 1.35 million kW of power, 11.87 billion kWh/year. Reducing the number of gNBs with Pivot 5G (.04 kW each) network repeaters and Echo 5G (.014 kW each) subscriber repeaters will consume 752,400 kW, 6.59 billion kWh/year. Measured in tons of CO2 saved, that equates to 478,685 fewer vehicles driving around for an entire year.

Now that’s what I call building with precision.

More posts like this:
Green technology, pivot value, repeaters, Sustainability,
Author Kent LundgrenPosted on April 7, 2022September 4, 2024Categories BlogTags Green technology, pivot value, repeaters, Sustainability
Pivotal Logo
©2017 PIVOTAL COMMWARE - All rights reserved. Website by GeekPower Web Design in Toronto VERIFIED Seal
Cookie Policy
ACCEPT Reject

We use cookies on our website to provide the best user experience possible.

Our Privacy Policy contains further information on how we use, store, and keep your personal data secure. Read More

You can at any time change or withdraw your consent from the Cookie Declaration on our website. Learn more about who we are, how you can contact us and how we process personal data in our Privacy Policy. Your consent applies to the following domains: pivotalcommware.com
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.

Necessary Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.