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AN EMPIRICAL STUDY: THE IMPACT OF THE NUMBER OF USERS ON ELECTRIC FIELD STRENGTH OF WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS.

Radiation protection dosimetry · 2018 · Unclear · Insufficient evidence

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UnclearInsufficient evidencePaper 5526

Real-time measurements on a university campus assessed how the number of users relates to electric field strength near a base station and a Wi‑Fi access point. The authors report an empirical model to estimate E for the base-station environment with 86% accur…

Study snapshot

PublicationRadiation protection dosimetry · 2018
Study typeexposure_assessment
Reported directionUnclear
Evidence ratingInsufficient

Abstract

As a result of the drastic increase in the number of mobile device users, there is considerable public debate about possible health hazards especially due to base stations and Wi-Fi access points. For this reason, in this study the effects of the number of users in a base station and wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) access point on electric field strength (E) levels were investigated using real-time measurements. Two-stage E measurements were performed on Ondokuz Mayıs University's (OMU) Kurupelit Campus with a PMM-8053 and SRM-3006 electromagnetic field (EMF) meter. In the first stage, 24-h measurements were performed with PMM-8053 at the location where the maximum E was measured and from which the busiest times of the day were then determined. The relationship among band selective E values was assessed using the number of users per minute provided by three cellular system operators for the location. Upper and lower bounds of E according to the number of users were calculated, and then an empirical model that helps calculate the E of medium with 86% accuracy was proposed. In the second stage, the effect of the number of users in a Wi-Fi access point on E level was investigated. For this purpose, the measurement environment was set as including one Wi-Fi access point with needed measurement devices. The number of users was increased as per user per minute. The number of users was validated with the data obtained from OMU IT Department. Using the measurement result, a model with a 96% accuracy between the E value in the environment and the number of users accessing the Wi-Fi system is proposed. With the use of these models, E level in the medium can be determined without using any EMF meters, thus precautions can be taken to stay within regulatory limits.

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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 typeexposure_assessment
Effect directionunclear
PopulationNot supplied
Sample sizeNot supplied
Exposure24-h measurements (base station stage); per-minute user increases (Wi‑Fi stage)
Evidence strengthInsufficientConfidence: 74% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Real-time measurements on a university campus assessed how the number of users relates to electric field strength near a base station and a Wi‑Fi access point. The authors report an empirical model to estimate E for the base-station environment with 86% accuracy and a model relating Wi‑Fi user count to E with 96% accuracy.

Outcomes measured

  • Electric field strength (E) levels
  • Relationship between number of users and band-selective E values
  • Empirical models predicting E from number of users (accuracy reported)
View raw extracted JSON
{
  "study_type": "exposure_assessment",
  "exposure": {
    "band": null,
    "source": "base station and Wi‑Fi access point",
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": "24-h measurements (base station stage); per-minute user increases (Wi‑Fi stage)"
  },
  "population": null,
  "sample_size": null,
  "outcomes": [
    "Electric field strength (E) levels",
    "Relationship between number of users and band-selective E values",
    "Empirical models predicting E from number of users (accuracy reported)"
  ],
  "main_findings": "Real-time measurements on a university campus assessed how the number of users relates to electric field strength near a base station and a Wi‑Fi access point. The authors report an empirical model to estimate E for the base-station environment with 86% accuracy and a model relating Wi‑Fi user count to E with 96% accuracy.",
  "effect_direction": "unclear",
  "limitations": [],
  "evidence_strength": "insufficient",
  "confidence": 0.74,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "electric field strength",
    "EMF meter",
    "base station",
    "Wi‑Fi",
    "wireless communications",
    "number of users",
    "real-time measurements",
    "empirical model",
    "regulatory limits",
    "university campus"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "school-wi-fi",
      "weight": 0.72,
      "reason": "Includes measurements and modeling of electric field strength from a Wi‑Fi access point in a university campus setting."
    }
  ]
}
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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: 10.1093/rpd/ncy107
PubMed: 30007352

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