Green Communication in Next Generation Cellular Networks: A Survey

In order to meet the intense user demands, the 5G networks are evolving, and will be available by 2020. The unfolding cellular technology has raised the energy consumption in mobile networks with the carbon footprint surging to alarming rates. This is causing an adverse effect on the environment and human health. Addressing these aspects, this paper presents a survey on techniques for making the next generation cellular networks GREEN. A number of technologies form a part of the 5G networks, in order to support the drastic user demands, and are receiving substantial attention from the perspective of green communication. These include device-to-device communication, spectrum sharing, ultra dense networks, massive MIMO, and the Internet of Things. Also, a prime concern in the current scenario is the battery life of the mobile terminals. For enhancing the battery life of the user terminals, a proposal is given in this paper, with spectrum sharing as its basis, to overcome the energy crunch. Major research challenges have been discussed, and the ongoing projects and standardization activities also stated in this paper.