This article comes from the public account of Fresh Jujube Class (ID: xzclasscom), author Xiao Zaojun, Ai Faner Authorized release.

Since the official commercialization of 5G in China, the construction of 5G networks across the country has accelerated significantly.

5G base stations are appearing in more and more cities and corners. The coverage of 5G signals is also expanding.

According to the latest 2020 China 5G Economic Report, the total domestic 5G network investment in 2020-2025 is 0.9 ~ 1.5 trillion yuan.

The largest part of this investment will be spent on the construction of 5G base stations.

So, as an important object of 5G investment, what are the costs of 5G base stations? Are these costs likely to fall?

Today, Xiaozaojun will do a cost analysis of 5G base stations.

I have previously introduced that base stations can be divided into macro base stations and micro base stations. The type of outdoor large tower is a macro base station. The 5G base stations currently under construction in our country are mainly macro base stations.

▲ Macro base station

Let ’s start with macro base station .

A 5G macro base station currently usually includes the following components:

The following figure is a part of the 4G macro base station, put together for comparison:

can be seen, compared toIn the 4G macro base station, in the 5G era, the RRU (radio remote unit) and the antenna feeder “merged” and became the AAU (active antenna unit), which is connected to the BBU (baseband processing unit) through optical fiber. (Note: In terms of true 5G, BBU has become DU and CU, as shown in the figure below. However, the domestic construction has not yet reached that stage, and BBU + AAU is the main.)

▲ The difference between 4G base station and 5G base station

The cost of 5G macro base stations is generally composed of main equipment , power supporting equipment facilities , Civil construction .

Like BBU, AAU, transmission equipment, it is the master device. Power supplies, batteries, air conditioners, and monitors are power packages. The machine room, of course, is civil construction.

Look at the master device first.

At present, 5G is still in its infancy, and the prices of 5G main equipment of various equipment vendors are still subject to change. Moreover, there is a huge gap between the price of buying a single device and the price of purchasing (collection) by the operator group.

For example, at present, the standard configuration of a certain equipment vendor (1 BBU + 3 AAU), only the price of the hardware, is reported to domestic operators at about 200,000 yuan (if not specified below) , The unit is RMB). In foreign countries, you can report a price of 300,000 to 400,000 yuan.

▲ Domestic antenna prices for reference only

Let’s look at the cost of a power package again.

Power equipment provides the base station with power and cooling guarantee, which is the prerequisite for the normal operation of a base station.

▲ Interior view of base station building

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Depending on the configuration of the base station, the number and specifications of the supporting power equipment also vary greatly. The following table is an example of power equipment related equipment:

-source “>

▲ base station outdoor cabinet

The battery is used to provide emergency power after the base station’s mains power is interrupted unexpectedly. The price of ordinary lead-acid batteries is 1-2 yuan / Ah. Lithium iron phosphate battery is more than 4 yuan / Ah. The battery is divided into cabinet-type installation and iron-frame installation, and the specifications are 48V100Ah ~ 48V1000Ah.

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▲ Classification of communication tower masts

For example, an ordinary three-tube tower weighs about 8.5 tons and costs about 90,000 yuan.

-source “>

▲ Reference to construction cost of iron towers

Note: The price of iron towers fluctuates greatly with the price of steel. The above costs are for reference only.

Civil engineering involves a variety of miscellaneous costs, sometimes including geological survey fees, construction land and comprehensive compensation fees, external power introduction construction costs, site selection fees, etc. Today I am not really going to do the project budget, so I will not go out one by one. From the above table, everyone probably has a number in mind.

In general, China Tower Corporation is responsible for the infrastructure related work in the computer room. After the tower bears the cost, it is then collected from the operatorTake the rent. The method of rent collection is generally calculated according to the volume of the equipment and the space occupied. For example, if an AAU is hung on an iron tower, the rent will be calculated according to the number of AAUs and the sky and surface resources occupied.

The expenses mentioned above are the hardware-related costs and expenses required to construct a base station.

In addition to hardware costs, plus (main equipment) software costs, installation consumables, etc., they are added together, If you do not count rent and labor, if A new 5G macro base station is about 300,000. If we calculate the rent and labor, the average is estimated to be 400,000 to 500,000.

It should be noted that at present, only a small number of operators are building new 5G macro base stations, and most of them are adding 5G main equipment under the existing 2/3 / 4G site. The costs that may be involved are the cost of the main equipment, the renovation of the equipment room, the expansion of the power supply, and the rent required to add 5G equipment. This cost is much lower than the cost of building a new base station.

The macro base station was mentioned earlier. Micro base stations are significantly different from macro base stations. The price of the micro base station itself is certainly not as high as that of the macro base station, but in urban densely populated places, rents and admission fees tend to be more expensive, and the cost of indoor construction (wiring, installation) is also more expensive.

▲ 5G micro base station

At present, 5G construction in China is mainly based on macro base stations, which is relatively easy. Entering deep coverage later, and starting to build micro base stations desperately, the pressure on operators will increase.

Micro-site and sub-domain macros Responsible for deep coverage and capacity absorption.

In addition to the construction cost (CAPEX) of 5G, what is more terrible is the later maintenance and use cost (OPEX).

I have told you before that the power consumption of 5G base stations is much larger than 4G base stations. Currently, it is about 3 ~ 3.5KW, which is about 2 ~ 3 times that of 4G base stations. Electricity charges will be the most realistic threat for operators in the 5G era.

Of course, the state should give some subsidies to electricity bills. Moreover, with the continuous improvement of technology, the power consumption of 5G base stations will also drop significantly, which is later.