Can 5G Save the Planet?

The 5G future promises more. More speed. More security. More support for cutting-edge applications such as robotic telemedicine and driverless cars.

Yet to achieve its full potential while protecting the environment, the next generation of wireless networking will need to deliver less in one key area.

Energy consumption.

From sleek mobile phones to ubiquitous cellular antennas to sprawling data centers, their increasingly connected digital lives require increasing amounts of electricity. The result? Increasing contributions to the carbon emissions that scientists believe are the driving force behind climate change and planetary warming.

The numbers tell the story. Canadian researchers estimate that by next year, information and communications technology (ICT) will account for 3.5 percent of annual global carbon emissions, a larger share than the aviation and shipping industries will account for.

That figure could jump to 14 percent of worldwide emissions by 2040, roughly equivalent to the percentage now attributable to the entire population of the United States.

Inside and outside the telecommunications industry, there’s concern that the pending 5G shift could play a significant role in any rise. By 2022, networks are expected to support 26 billion devices and connections worldwide, an increase of about 10 billion from 2015.

A 5G world includes many more wireless devices, including security cameras, smart appliances, and connected factory robots. More devices transmitting much more data figures to require far more power. Telecom sustainability expert Anders Andrae calls this situation a potential “perfect storm” of increased energy consumption.

“This is a real concern for 5G,” says Zach Chang, a carrier network product manager at the communications technology company Huawei. “It will be much more powerful than 4G in terms of processing power and bandwidth and has the potential to cover the whole Earth’s population.

“All of that will increase energy consumption. If the efficiency of the entire infrastructure doesn’t go up, it won’t make financial or environmental sense. It won’t be sustainable.”

Only that doesn’t have to be the case. International standards for 5G call for reduced energy use compared to today’s 4G networks, and companies such as Huawei are designing and building components with dramatically increased efficiency in mind.

The ultimate goal? Use less power to transmit more data, decreasing the wattage required for each bit of internet traffic.

So far, results have been promising. While recently discussing sustainability, Huawei Chairman Liang Hua said that with 4G, a single kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity is sufficient to download about 300 high-definition movies. With 5G, that same kilowatt hour can power about 5,000 ultra-high definition movie downloads.

Or consider base stations, which transmit and receive the radio signals at the heart of wireless networks. These power-hungry sites can account for as much as 80 percent of total network energy use. Nearly half of the electricity consumed by each station goes to the air-conditioning used to cool transmission equipment.

In the city of Hangzhou, Huawei and a major Chinese telecom provider have deployed new 5G base stations that require fewer heat-generating electronic components. They also use sophisticated power management software and trade air-conditioning for open-air cooling.

Compared to 4G stations, the new stations use almost 20 percent less electricity. That saves an estimated 4,130 kWh of power per site per year, which translates to about 1,125 kilograms (kg) of carbon emissions.

If the efficiency of the entire infrastructure doesn’t go up, it won’t make financial or environmental sense. It won’t be sustainable.

Similarly, other companies in Europe and Japan have developed base stations that use liquid cooling and solar power. Respectively, those solutions reduce energy operating expenses by nearly a third and CO2 emissions by up to 80 percent.

What could these reductions mean at scale? Between now and 2022, Huawei estimates, more than 2 million base stations in China alone will be built or reconstructed for 5G.

Apply that number to the energy-use reductions achieved in Hangzhou, and that’s 8.3 billion kWh of electricity and 2.3 billion kg of carbon emissions saved per year. The first number is almost the same as total annual household power consumption in Iceland. The second is equivalent to the yearly CO2 absorption of 130 million trees.

“When you’re talking about hundreds of thousands of base stations, even a 1 percent savings in power use is huge,” says Scott Jamar, Huawei’s vice president of Industry Relations.

Better base station efficiency isn’t the only way to reduce 5G power use. Huawei and others are developing additional solutions, including:

Ultimately, 5G’s most important contribution to energy efficiency may come through enabling users. Environmentalists and policy think tanks alike believe that smart, wirelessly-connected appliances, factories, cities, and transportation grids will be able to optimize and reduce their power consumption, just like networks and data centers. The end result? Lower costs and a meaningful contribution to global efforts to mitigate climate change.

“The thing about 5G is that they will have much more capacity to incorporate sensors into daily life, from industry to their own homes,” Chang says. “And that will allow us to modulate their energy use in so many places we’ve overlooked, just because they didn’t have the communications tools to make equipment truly smart. With 5G, their society as a whole can become much more energy efficient.”

Huawei Freebuds 5 unveiled, with killer specs and a unique design

Get the T3 newsletter!

All the best features, news, tips and great deals to help you live a better life through technology

Thank you for signing up to T3. You will receive a verification email shortly.

There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.

If you're in the market for a pair of the best wireless earbuds, you may find yourself overwhelmed with options. There are a whole heap of really great headphones on the market right now, and at increasingly competitive prices.

Sure, they all know about the Sony XF-X1000XM4, complete with a circa £200 RRP, but you don't have to break the bank for great option anymore. I recently used the Nothing Ear (2) and was blown away with the sound quality, design and feature set – particularly when they retail at just £129.

Now, Huawei are looking to get in the mix, with their newly unveiled Huawei Freebuds 5. The latest earbuds from the brand take on a new appearance, and put right some of their biggest spec sheet gripes from the Huawei Freebuds 4. The Freebuds 5 are set to retail at £159, and come in three colour variants – Ceramic White, Silver Frost and Coral Orange.

So, what's new? First things first, there's a 30-hour battery life listed. That's a giant leap up from the previous generation, and puts these earbuds right in the mix. Low-end frequency response is also given a boost, with Huawei claiming that these can handle frequencies as low as 16Hz. 

If true, that is seriously impressive. This half-in ear style of headphone is notorious for losing bass frequencies – without a firm seal within your ear canal, they just can't keep it in. For that reason alone, I'm slightly dubious of Huawei's claim, though I would be very happy to be proven wrong.

Elsewhere, adaptive EQ optimises the audio based on a variety of measurements, such as ear canal shape, wearing status and volume level. That all happens in real-time, too, ensuring optimal sound quality.

Of course, the biggest change is in the design of the buds themselves. It's... different, and certainly unique, though I can see it being a bit of a love-it-or-hate-it choice. I also can't shake the resemblance to a kidney bean from my mind.

Eccentric design aside, though, these sound like a remarkably good pair of earbuds. I'm keen to try a pair – mostly to put those claims about the low-end to the test.

Today's best Huawei Freebuds 4 deals