Measuring EMF and Throughput Before and After 5G Service Activation in a Residential Area

2023 · Mixed · Low evidence

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MixedLow evidencePaper 471

Study snapshot

Publicationmanual · 2023

Study typeexposure_assessment

Reported directionMixed

Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

Measuring EMF and Throughput Before and After 5G Service Activation in a Residential Area Chiaraviglio L, Bartoletti S, Blefari-Melazzi N, Lodovisi C, Moretti A, Zampognaro F, Alouini M-S. Measuring EMF and Throughput Before and After 5G Service Activation in a Residential Area. IEEE Open Journal of the Communications Society, doi: 10.1109/OJCOMS.2023.3277782. Abstract The deployment of 5G networks is approaching a mature phase in many countries across the world. However, little efforts have been done so far to scientifically compare ElectroMagnetic Field (EMF) exposure and traffic levels before and after the activation of 5G service over the territory. The goal of this work is to provide a sound comparative assessment of exposure and traffic, by performing repeated measurements before and after 5G provisioning service. Our solution is based on an EMF meter and a spectrum analyzer that is remotely controlled by a measurement algorithm. In this way, we dissect the contribution of each pre-5G and 5G band radiating over the territory. In addition, we employ a traffic chain to precisely characterize the achieved throughput levels. Results, derived from a set of measurements performed on a commercial deployment, reveal that the provisioning of 5G service over mid-band frequencies has a limited impact on the exposure. In parallel, the measured traffic is more than doubled when 5G is activated over mid-bands, reaching levels above 200 Mbps. On the other hand, the provisioning of 5G over sub-GHz bands does not introduce a substantial increase in the traffic levels. Eventually, we demonstrate that EMF exposure is impacted by the raw-land reconfiguration to host the 5G panels, which introduces changes in the sight conditions and in the power received from the main lobes. Open access paper: ieeexplore.ieee.org

Machine Enhanced Logic

AI evidence extraction

Structured fields below were generated from the paper’s abstract and metadata to make the evidence easier to inspect. Automated extraction may be incomplete or incorrect; verify important details against the original paper.

Study typeexposure_assessment

Effect directionmixed

PopulationNot supplied

Sample sizeNot supplied

ExposureRF

Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 74% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Repeated measurements in a residential area before and after 5G activation found that enabling 5G service over mid-band frequencies had a limited impact on EMF exposure, while measured traffic more than doubled (above 200 Mbps). Provisioning 5G over sub-GHz bands did not introduce a substantial increase in traffic levels. EMF exposure changes were also associated with land reconfiguration to host 5G panels affecting sight conditions and received power from main lobes.

Outcomes measured

EMF exposure levels before vs after 5G activation
Band-specific EMF contributions (pre-5G vs 5G bands)
Throughput/traffic levels before vs after 5G activation

Limitations

No numeric EMF exposure values or units reported in the abstract
Sample size/number of measurement locations and measurement duration not stated
Specific frequencies for “mid-band” and “sub-GHz” not provided
Residential population characteristics not described

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "exposure_assessment",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "RF",
    "source": "5G network (commercial deployment in residential area)",
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": null
  },
  "population": null,
  "sample_size": null,
  "outcomes": [
    "EMF exposure levels before vs after 5G activation",
    "Band-specific EMF contributions (pre-5G vs 5G bands)",
    "Throughput/traffic levels before vs after 5G activation"
  ],
  "main_findings": "Repeated measurements in a residential area before and after 5G activation found that enabling 5G service over mid-band frequencies had a limited impact on EMF exposure, while measured traffic more than doubled (above 200 Mbps). Provisioning 5G over sub-GHz bands did not introduce a substantial increase in traffic levels. EMF exposure changes were also associated with land reconfiguration to host 5G panels affecting sight conditions and received power from main lobes.",
  "effect_direction": "mixed",
  "limitations": [
    "No numeric EMF exposure values or units reported in the abstract",
    "Sample size/number of measurement locations and measurement duration not stated",
    "Specific frequencies for “mid-band” and “sub-GHz” not provided",
    "Residential population characteristics not described"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.74,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "5G",
    "EMF exposure",
    "residential area",
    "spectrum analyzer",
    "EMF meter",
    "mid-band",
    "sub-GHz",
    "throughput",
    "traffic measurements",
    "base station panels"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "5g-policy",
      "weight": 0.78,
      "reason": "Study measures EMF exposure before/after 5G activation and discusses impacts of 5G deployment configuration."
    }
  ]
}

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AI-extracted fields are generated from the abstract and metadata and may be incomplete or incorrect. This material is for informational purposes and is not medical advice.

Identifiers and source

DOI: 10.1109/ojcoms.2023.3277782
PubMed: Not supplied

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