5G technologies aimed at significant energy efficiency improvements Khoo Boo Leong Wed 24 Feb 2021 // 23:00 UTC Share Copy Sponsored In terms of the amount of data bits delivered for a given unit of energy consumed under different predefined traffic load scenarios, 5G radio access network technology is significantly more efficient than 4G and legacy technologies. This advantage has been made possible through optimized processor and transmitter technologies and implementation of network-sharing mechanisms. Presently, energy cost already accounts for 20-25% of network total cost of ownership (TCO) for 4G operators. GSMA estimates that high-performing 5G-era mobile networks will require up to 140% more energy in some deployment scenarios.