5G communication requires tens of millions of base stations! How to build so many?

"With the advent of the 5G era, mobile communications have achieved massive interconnection. 5G is not only faster than 4G, it also supports more business types and has a wider range of applications." Wu Hequan, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said this at the 7th China Internet Security Conference.

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Stable signal transmission and wide coverage are the foundation of the Internet of Everything. As the "pioneer" of 5G large-scale networking, the construction and deployment of 5G base stations have attracted attention. Xiang Ligang, chairman of the Information Consumption Alliance, said that compared with 4G, the number of 5G base stations will double. Starting from this year and the next three years, 1 million 5G base stations may need to be built each year, and eventually 8 to 10 million 5G base stations may need to be built.

So, why are so many base stations needed in the 5G era? How should these base stations be built? In response to the above questions, Science and Technology Daily reporters interviewed relevant experts.

The higher the frequency, the smaller the coverage area

Why do we need so many base stations in the 5G era?

Public information shows that as of now, South Korea, the United States, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom have launched 5G services. However, the construction of 5G services in these countries is still in its early stages, with problems such as a small number of base stations, unstable signals, and single terminals.

"The coverage range of a base station is related to the signal frequency. The higher the signal frequency, the smaller the coverage radius of the base station. 5G uses ultra-high frequency signals, which are about 2 to 3 times higher than the existing 4G signal frequency. Therefore, the signal coverage range will be limited, and the coverage radius of its base station is about 100 to 300 meters." Wang Xiaofei, a professor at the School of Intelligence and Computing at Tianjin University, said that if high-frequency signals are used in mobile communications, the transmission distance will be greatly shortened, the coverage capability will be greatly weakened, and the signal penetration will also be greatly weakened.

"By analogy, if you want to cover an area of ​​the same size, the number of 5G base stations required will be far more than 4G, and 5G base stations will be built more densely." Xiang Ligang explained that data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in 2018 showed that the total number of 4G base stations in my country currently has reached 3.72 million. If the number of 5G base stations is calculated to be twice as much, the number of domestic base stations in the future will be at least more than 8 million.

How should such dense base stations be laid out?

Wang Xiaofei told reporters that according to estimates, in the city center, one 5G base station is needed every 200 to 300 meters, in the suburbs, one 5G base station is needed every 500 to 1 kilometer, and in rural areas, one 5G base station is needed every 1.5 to 2.5 kilometers. Because the penetration of 5G signals has been greatly weakened, more dense 5G indoor base stations will need to be built in densely populated office buildings, residential areas, commercial areas and other areas in the future.

"Under the existing building structure, some areas may not have enough space to build signal towers, so many places can only install 'miniature' 5G base stations, or make full use of old signal towers and install 5G base stations directly on them," said Wang Xiaofei.

There are many difficulties in the early stage of construction

As base stations become denser and the frequency of electromagnetic waves increases, will the radiation from 5G base stations increase? This question has already arisen in people's minds long before 5G was officially put into commercial use.

"If we want to realize the true interconnection of all things, we have to deploy high-density base stations, which inevitably requires 'moving' the base stations into residential areas or even residential buildings." Xiang Ligang said that some people "turn pale at the mention of radiation", which is one of the main difficulties currently faced in the construction of 5G base stations.

Xiang Ligang explained that the earth itself is a large magnetic field. From electric blankets to electric ovens, from refrigerators to electric irons, it can be said that electromagnetic radiation is everywhere in life. At present, there is not enough evidence to prove that the higher the frequency of electromagnetic waves, the greater the radiation to the human body, but the high transmission power of mobile phones does have an impact on the human body.

Take mobile phone radiation as an example. In actual use, the amount of radiation is related to factors such as the distance between the mobile phone and the base station, the geographical environment around the user, and the setting of the base station. "Generally speaking, the closer the mobile phone is to the base station, the smaller the transmission power and the less radiation," said Xiang Ligang.

In addition, base station construction also faces huge cost issues. Wang Xiaofei said that from the perspective of base station construction alone, industry experts estimate that if the 5G network is fully built, including large and small base stations, my country's investment in base station construction is estimated to reach tens of trillions of yuan. Moreover, based on current test results, the power consumption of 5G base stations may be 2 to 3 times that of 4G base stations. With a large number of base stations, electricity costs are expected to account for more than 40% of the operating costs of 5G base stations, which is also a very worthy issue of concern.

However, Wang Xiaofei also pointed out that it is not comprehensive to measure the value of 5G base stations only from the perspective of 5G base station radiation and power consumption. 5G will need to be applied to all aspects of society in the future, promoting the informatization and digitalization of various industries, which will inevitably improve the operational efficiency of various industries and reduce production energy consumption. We must look at the problem from a development perspective.