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Towards Sustainability in 6G and beyond: Challenges and Opportunities of Open RAN

Hamed Ahmadi, Mostafa Rahmani, Swarna Bindu Chetty, Eirini Eleni Tsiropoulou, Huseyin Arslan, Merouane Debbah, Tony Quek

TL;DR

The paper addresses the sustainability challenges of 6G, arguing that despite an ambitious target of about $10^9$ bits/J in energy efficiency, aggregate energy use may rise with demand. It proposes Open RAN as a core architectural enabler that combines softwarisation, edge computing, and AI/ML to enable multi-vendor innovation, rapid adaptation, and energy-aware network management. Key contributions include a framework linking economic, environmental, and social sustainability to O-RAN implementations, a discussion of e-waste and energy consumption in O-RAN, and a CF-mMIMO case study showing substantial power savings through distributed processing and optimized resource management. The work highlights practical implications for scalable, sustainable 6G deployments, while also noting open challenges around interoperability, measurement metrics, and the environmental footprint of AI workloads.

Abstract

The transition to 6G is expected to bring significant advancements, including much higher data rates, enhanced reliability and ultra-low latency compared to previous generations. Although 6G is anticipated to be 100 times more energy efficient, this increased efficiency does not necessarily mean reduced energy consumption or enhanced sustainability. Network sustainability encompasses a broader scope, integrating business viability, environmental sustainability, and social responsibility. This paper explores the sustainability requirements for 6G and proposes Open RAN as a key architectural solution. By enabling network diversification, fostering open and continuous innovation, and integrating AI/ML, Open RAN can promote sustainability in 6G. The paper identifies high energy consumption and e-waste generation as critical sustainability challenges and discusses how Open RAN can address these issues through softwarisation, edge computing, and AI integration.

Towards Sustainability in 6G and beyond: Challenges and Opportunities of Open RAN

TL;DR

The paper addresses the sustainability challenges of 6G, arguing that despite an ambitious target of about bits/J in energy efficiency, aggregate energy use may rise with demand. It proposes Open RAN as a core architectural enabler that combines softwarisation, edge computing, and AI/ML to enable multi-vendor innovation, rapid adaptation, and energy-aware network management. Key contributions include a framework linking economic, environmental, and social sustainability to O-RAN implementations, a discussion of e-waste and energy consumption in O-RAN, and a CF-mMIMO case study showing substantial power savings through distributed processing and optimized resource management. The work highlights practical implications for scalable, sustainable 6G deployments, while also noting open challenges around interoperability, measurement metrics, and the environmental footprint of AI workloads.

Abstract

The transition to 6G is expected to bring significant advancements, including much higher data rates, enhanced reliability and ultra-low latency compared to previous generations. Although 6G is anticipated to be 100 times more energy efficient, this increased efficiency does not necessarily mean reduced energy consumption or enhanced sustainability. Network sustainability encompasses a broader scope, integrating business viability, environmental sustainability, and social responsibility. This paper explores the sustainability requirements for 6G and proposes Open RAN as a key architectural solution. By enabling network diversification, fostering open and continuous innovation, and integrating AI/ML, Open RAN can promote sustainability in 6G. The paper identifies high energy consumption and e-waste generation as critical sustainability challenges and discusses how Open RAN can address these issues through softwarisation, edge computing, and AI integration.

Paper Structure

This paper contains 20 sections, 5 figures.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. The path towards sustainability
  3. Business/Economic Sustainability
  4. Environmental sustainability
  5. Social responsibility
  6. How to make 6G and beyond sustainable solutions?
  7. E-waste reduction via softwarisation
  8. Sustainable energy consumption
  9. Renewable energy at the edge
  10. Energy sufficiency
  11. AI/ML and sustainability
  12. Open RAN: a recipe to 6G and beyond sustainability
  13. Open RAN
  14. Open innovation for RAN
  15. O-RAN and sustainability concepts
  16. ...and 5 more sections

Figures (5)

  • Figure 1: 5G application scenarios vs 6G.
  • Figure 2: Architecture and main components of O-RAN framework
  • Figure 3: Sustainable O-RAN based 6G network.
  • Figure 4: Total power consumption vs. spectral efficiency requirement per UE for $K = 10$ .
  • Figure 5: Total power consumption vs. number of UEs for spectral efficienc requirement of 1.5 bit/s/Hz