Estimates suggest network energy consumption could increase by up to 170% by 2026
Vertiv, together with technology analyst firm 451 Research, has released the findings of an in-depth survey which reveals a good sense of optimism about the services 5G will enable and the interplay with edge computing. The majority of telecoms operators surveyed believe the 5G era will start in earnest in 2021 in all geographies, with 88% of respondents planning to deploy 5G in 2021-2022.
However, more than 90% of respondents believe 5G will result in higher energy costs and are interested in technologies and services that improve efficiency. This is consistent with internal analysis by Vertiv, which finds the move to 5G is likely to increase total network energy consumption by 150% to 170% by 2026, with the largest increases in macro, node, and network data center areas.