Selected Health and Law Issues Regarding Mobile Communications with Respect to 5G

2018 · Mixed · Low evidence

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MixedLow evidencePaper 2032

Study snapshot

Publicationmanual · 2018

Study typeengineering

Reported directionMixed

Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

Selected Health and Law Issues Regarding Mobile Communications with Respect to 5G Mandl P, Pezzei P, Leitgeb E. Selected Health and Law Issues Regarding Mobile Communications with Respect to 5G. Presented at 2018 International Conference on Broadband Communications for Next Generation Networks and Multimedia Applications (CoBCom). Graz, Austria. July 11-13, 2018. Abstract Over the next years the demand of wireless communication will increase tremendously. More and more mobile end devices require a high data rate connection e.g. to a smart home (Internet of Things, IoT) or to the internet. The radiation power pattern of base stations and mobile end devices will completely change for the 5G Next Generation Mobile Network technology which will use frequency bands up to 100 GHz. Therefore the electromagnetic exposure especially to human body will increase in the future, because most of the wireless connections are realized in RF technology. In this contribution two different measurement setups are presented. The first shows the electromagnetic radiation regarding a base station powered by a mobile phone provider over a timespan of a number of days. The second figures out the electromagnetic radiation of a handheld mobile end device to a human head in an area with very poor reception values. The results of those measurements where compared with legal and health limits. All measured and calculated results regarding the base stations were within the legal exposure limits. The calculated legal exposure limits of mobile devices were exceeded twice in areas within very poor reception values. Regarding the expected higher bandwidth and corresponding higher electromagnetic exposure to human bodies in future there have to be periodic measurements to comply with radiation limits. Conclusions It has been shown that there is currently no overshooting of legal limits in the transmission of base stations. The presented measurement campaign regarding the base station showed that the E-Field reached a maximum of 0.673 V/m (legal limit: 47.631 V/m) and the H-Field a maximum of 2 mA/m (legal limit: 128 mA/m). However, the coming mobile radio standards like 5G is expected to use frequency bands up to 100 GHz, a much higher density of base stations and 100 times higher bandwidths than nowadays which subsequently causes higher transmission power of base stations. Regarding the above mentioned circumstances it will be necessary to measure the radiation exposure of base stations in the future on a regular basis in order to ensure the legal limits and to reduce possible health hazards. It also will be necessary to develop new measurement strategies and/or technologies regarding the large frequency spectrum 5G will use up to 100 GHz. When measuring directly on a mobile phone (simulating the use of an end device directly on the human head), it was found that the calculated SAR of 3.834 W/kg exceeds the legal limit of 2 W/ kg. This shows clearly that the legal limit values can be exceeded significantly in areas with very poor reception values ... Increasing the distance between a mobile end device and the head, e.g. by using a hands-free set or a headset can significantly reduce the human exposure to electromagnetic radiation when such a device is used in badly supplied areas and transmits with maximum power. ieeexplore.ieee.org

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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 typeengineering

Effect directionmixed

PopulationNot supplied

Sample sizeNot supplied

ExposureRF · 3.834 W/kg · base station measured over a timespan of a number of days

Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 74% · Peer reviewed: unknown

Main findings

Two measurement setups were reported: (1) base-station field measurements over multiple days and (2) a handheld mobile device exposure scenario to a human head in very poor reception. Base-station measurements were within legal exposure limits (max E-field 0.673 V/m vs legal limit 47.631 V/m; max H-field 2 mA/m vs legal limit 128 mA/m), while the calculated SAR for a mobile device scenario was reported as 3.834 W/kg, exceeding a legal limit of 2 W/kg in very poor reception areas.

Outcomes measured

E-field (V/m)
H-field (mA/m)
SAR (W/kg)
comparison with legal/health exposure limits

Limitations

Conference contribution; peer-review status not stated in abstract
Frequency of the measured base station/mobile device not specified
Methods and instrumentation details for measurements/calculations not provided in abstract
No sample size or number of measurement locations/devices reported
Health outcomes were not measured; comparisons were to legal/health limits

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "engineering",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "RF",
    "source": "base station and mobile phone",
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": 3.834,
    "duration": "base station measured over a timespan of a number of days"
  },
  "population": null,
  "sample_size": null,
  "outcomes": [
    "E-field (V/m)",
    "H-field (mA/m)",
    "SAR (W/kg)",
    "comparison with legal/health exposure limits"
  ],
  "main_findings": "Two measurement setups were reported: (1) base-station field measurements over multiple days and (2) a handheld mobile device exposure scenario to a human head in very poor reception. Base-station measurements were within legal exposure limits (max E-field 0.673 V/m vs legal limit 47.631 V/m; max H-field 2 mA/m vs legal limit 128 mA/m), while the calculated SAR for a mobile device scenario was reported as 3.834 W/kg, exceeding a legal limit of 2 W/kg in very poor reception areas.",
  "effect_direction": "mixed",
  "limitations": [
    "Conference contribution; peer-review status not stated in abstract",
    "Frequency of the measured base station/mobile device not specified",
    "Methods and instrumentation details for measurements/calculations not provided in abstract",
    "No sample size or number of measurement locations/devices reported",
    "Health outcomes were not measured; comparisons were to legal/health limits"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.74,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "unknown",
  "keywords": [
    "5G",
    "mobile communications",
    "RF exposure",
    "base station",
    "mobile device",
    "SAR",
    "E-field",
    "H-field",
    "legal limits",
    "poor reception",
    "100 GHz"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "5g-policy",
      "weight": 0.78,
      "reason": "Discusses 5G up to 100 GHz, exposure expectations, and need for measurement strategies/limits compliance."
    }
  ]
}

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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: Not supplied
PubMed: Not supplied

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