The detriment of global warming caused by greenhouse gases emission involves all aspects of human existence, ranging from natural disasters to biological chain breaks. Cellular networks, especially 5G cellular networks not only provide the key digital infrastructure for promoting the digital information world but also produce massive carbon emission when the energy consumption of 5G cellular networks is increased five to ten times compared with that of 4G. In the construction and maintenance of the next generation cellular networks, it is an inevitable challenge to reduce energy consumption and carbon emission of communication devices, such as base stations, switches and servers. In this article, we first determine terminologies and definitions for carbon emission and carbon efficiency of mobile communication systems. In particular, the carbon emission of current mobile communication systems, as well as the relationship between carbon efficiency, energy efficiency and spectrum efficiency, is elaborated. To achieve the goal of carbon neutrality, we propose a four-layer network architecture assisted by an overall carbon neutral network management module. Finally, we summarize the challenges and enabling technologies to meet the requirements of carbon neutrality for 6G cellular networks.

中文翻译：

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迈向 6G 碳中和蜂窝网络


温室气体排放造成的全球变暖危害涉及人类生存的方方面面，从自然灾害到生物链断裂。蜂窝网络，特别是5G蜂窝网络，不仅为推动数字信息世界提供了关键的数字基础设施，而且当5G蜂窝网络的能耗比4G增加五到十倍时，也会产生大量的碳排放。在下一代蜂窝网络的建设和维护中，降低基站、交换机、服务器等通信设备的能耗和碳排放是不可避免的挑战。在本文中，我们首先确定移动通信系统碳排放和碳效率的术语和定义。特别阐述了当前移动通信系统的碳排放，以及碳效率、能源效率和频谱效率之间的关系。为了实现碳中和的目标，我们提出了一个由整体碳中和网络管理模块辅助的四层网络架构。最后，我们总结了满足 6G 蜂窝网络碳中和要求的挑战和支持技术。