AI summary & topic connections
Proposes satellite-to-gateway-to-fiber networks to reduce neighborhood transmitter density, with exposure mapping, disclosure and separate assessment of direct-to-cell service; explicitly avoids asserting harm below limits.
- Li-Fi, fiber & alternatives:
, and should favor a satellite-to-gateway-to-fiber build in federal health and broadband policy. How a ne
- Satellite exposure:
ed build has four layers: 1. Low Earth orbit satellites reach places fiber cannot reach at reasonable cost. 2.
- Research & federal duties:
e reaches the home. Q16 and Q17: Start with measurement. Compare real-world exposure in neighborhoods served b
- Exposure limits & oversight:
service role (everyday versus backup) to any classification system. Q9: Publish transmitter site maps for residen
- Towers & siting:
er square kilometer. Q5(n) and 5(p): Report transmitter density and backhaul type alongside device limits. Coordinate
- Children & vulnerable groups:
ecides how many transmitters sit near homes, schools and clinics. The recommended build has four layers: 1
Comment on HHS-OASH-2026-0397, Request for Information on EMFs, RF Radiation, and Wireless Radiation Exposure
Respondent: Sam Galiatsatos, Austin, Texas
Perspective (Q2): Individual consumer and family member
Questions addressed: 2, 5(n), 5(p), 9, 13(a), 13(d), 15(a)-(d), 16, 17, 18
Summary: HHS should treat network architecture as a way to reduce unnecessary exposure, and should favor a satellite-to-gateway-to-fiber build in federal health and broadband policy. How a network is built decides how many transmitters sit near homes, schools and clinics.
The recommended build has four layers:
1. Low Earth orbit satellites reach places fiber cannot reach at reasonable cost.
2. Gateway ground stations, a few fenced sites, hand satellite traffic straight to fiber.
3. Fiber trunks carry that traffic into cities and rural hubs. Fiber carries light and emits no RF.
4. Inside homes, schools and clinics, people get wired connections and low-power Wi-Fi they can switch off.
Q13 and Q15: Short-range 5G bands need more sites mounted close to streets and homes, so neighborhood exposure depends on site count and distance. With satellite broadband, the serving transmitter is in orbit, and home terminals and gateways aim their main beams at the sky. HHS should classify satellite direct-to-cell service separately, since the phone itself is the transmitter near the body. Exposure evidence should record distance to homes, schools and clinics, cumulative neighborhood exposure, and transmitters per square kilometer.
Q5(n) and 5(p): Report transmitter density and backhaul type alongside device limits. Coordinate with NTIA and the FCC so broadband funding counts lower neighborhood transmitter density as a public health benefit. Add beam direction, site density and service role (everyday versus backup) to any classification system.
Q9: Publish transmitter site maps for residents and local governments, notify schools and childcare facilities of nearby installations, and tell subscribers how their service reaches the home.
Q16 and Q17: Start with measurement. Compare real-world exposure in neighborhoods served by dense small cells, fiber to the home, and rural satellite. FDA, NIH and CDC should coordinate with the FCC and NTIA on joint exposure mapping.
Q18: Under the revised BEAD program, about two-thirds of funded locations will get fiber, so this build matches where federal dollars already go. ARPA-H's STACK program aims to bring clinical trials to rural patients, and those clinics need stable fiber connections.
Limits: This comment does not claim that exposure below current federal limits causes harm. It recommends reducing exposure the network does not need while HHS reviews the evidence.
The attached PDF contains the full comment, an illustrated diagram of the four layers, and linked sources for every figure cited.