The radio access network (RAN) accounts for the largest share of energy consumption in mobile networks, making it essential to understand how and where this energy is used, particularly as future networks move toward higher levels of densification. Open radio access networks (O-RAN) have emerged as a promising approach to support this evolution through open interfaces that enable a multivendor environment, support for hierarchical intelligent controls, and simplified, cost-effective radio units that facilitate large-scale deployments. This paper examines the energy consumption in next-generation RAN architectures through transaction-based energy models. The model captures both processing and transmission energy components and evaluates how energy use varies with the placement of baseband processing (BBP) across network nodes and with different levels of network densification. Results indicate that processing energy dominates total consumption and that the location of BBP strongly influences overall energy efficiency. These insights can inform the design of future RAN deployments that balance flexibility, cost, and sustainability.

翻译：无线接入网（RAN）在移动网络中占据最大比例的能耗，因此理解其能量如何及在何处被消耗至关重要，尤其是在未来网络向更高密度化发展的背景下。开放式无线接入网（O-RAN）作为一种有前景的方案应运而生，通过开放接口支持这一演进，实现多供应商环境、分级智能控制，以及简化且经济高效的无线单元，从而促进大规模部署。本文通过基于交易的能耗模型，研究了下一代RAN架构中的能量消耗。该模型同时考虑了处理能耗和传输能耗分量，并评估了基带处理（BBP）在不同网络节点上的部署位置以及不同网络密度化水平下能量使用如何变化。结果表明，处理能耗占主导地位，且BBP的位置对整体能效有显著影响。这些发现可为未来RAN部署的设计提供参考，以平衡灵活性、成本和可持续性。