Operators shut down 5g base stations at night

Why is China putting a 5G base station to sleep?

What many people don’t realise, though, is that it’s also expending a lot more energy for Chinese telecom companies. At the beginning of August, a China Unicom branch announced that it would put some of its ZTE 5G base stations to sleep between 9pm and 9am to reduce electricity costs in the city of Luoyang.

Do 5G base stations use more energy than 4G?

A recent white paper from telecom equipment maker Huawei illustrates the problem: 5G base stations use up to three-and-a-half times more energy than 4G infrastructure. Part of the problem is that this new generation of mobile connectivity requires more densely placed base stations.

Why does AAU turn off power when a base station is idle?

Li Fuchang, deputy director of the wireless networks research department at China Unicom’s Network Technology Research Institute, said that the hibernation function of the active array units (AAU) turns off the power supply when a base station is idle. This happens when there are no 5G users connected.

Does China have a 5G network?

China first launched what it called the world’s largest 5G network at the end of last year with subsidised plans. The technology is meant to herald the arrival of ultra-fast wireless broadband internet, but availability remains limited.