Analytical Power Efficiency Models for Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN)

TitleAnalytical Power Efficiency Models for Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN)
Publication TypeConference Paper
Year of PublicationIn Press
AuthorsKuaban GSuila, Czachórski T, Atmaca T, Czekalski P
Conference Name33rd International Symposium on the Modeling, Analysis, and Simulation of Computer and Telecommunication System
PublisherIEEE
Abstract

The rapid deployment of 5G and the anticipated evolution to 6G have intensified the need for energy-efficient radio access networks, driven by rapidly growing power demands, rising energy costs, and environmental concerns. Open Radio Access Networks (O-RAN) offer a flexible and scalable architecture; however, their disaggregated nature requires accurate power modelling to optimise energy consumption. This paper proposes enhanced power consumption models for O-RAN that account for power efficiency gains from resource sharing across multiple radio units (O-RUs) and the offloading of highly parallel baseband processing tasks to specialised energy-efficient hardware accelerators such as ASICs, FPGAs, or GPUs. The models are used to analyse the scaling behavior of O-RUs, distributed units (O-DUs), and centralized units (O-CUs) under varying deployment scenarios. Results show that O-RUs dominate the total network power budget, while O-DUs benefit from sublinear growth due to statistical multiplexing, and O-CUs scale the slowest owing to centralised control-plane sharing. Furthermore, the study identifies optimal ranges of RU-to-DU aggregation and accelerator utilization for maximising energy efficiency in large-scale 5G/6G O-RAN deployments.

Historia zmian

Data aktualizacji: 20/11/2025 - 10:53; autor zmian: Godlove Kuaban (gskuaban@iitis.pl)