Recording the extremely low frequency pulsations of wireless communication electromagnetic fields

Electromagn Biol Med · 2026 · Unclear · Low evidence

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UnclearLow evidencePaper 6859

The study reports time-resolved recordings of emissions from a Wi-Fi router and 4G/5G mobile phones, showing discontinuous on/off pulses repeated at various extremely low frequency rates. The authors state that these signals show substantial variability in pu…

Study snapshot

PublicationElectromagn Biol Med · 2026

Study typeexposure_assessment

Reported directionUnclear

Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

All digital Wireless Communication (WC) electromagnetic field (EMF)/radiation (EMR) signals (from mobile/"smart" phones and corresponding base antennas, cordless domestic phones, Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) routers, "Bluetooth" wireless connection among electronic devices, etc.) are emitted discontinuously, in the form of on/off pulses repeated at various Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) rates. Yet, many scientists ignore/underestimate these ELF pulsations, and characterize all WC emissions simply as Radio Frequency (RF)/Microwave (MW) signals. Here, we provide recordings of ELF pulsations with respect to time, emitted by the most common WC devices, specifically Wi-Fi router, 4th and 5th Generation (4G, 5G) mobile phones. We used a broadband antenna, connected to an RF spectrum analyzer (SA), calibrated the SA at the signal's carrier MW frequency and recorded the power of the final emitted RF/MW signal with respect to time. We recorded emissions at 10 ms, 100 ms, 1 s, and 2 s sweep times, capturing the pulses repeated at various ELF rates, clearly showing the ELF pulsing emissions from the WC devices. As in all real WC EMF signals emitted by commercially available devices and corresponding antennas, there is intense variability in the amplitude, shape, duration, and repetition frequency of the pulses. The present study, in combination with the Ion Forced Oscillation and Voltage-Gated Ion Channel (IFO-VGIC) mechanism of non-thermal EMF-bioeffects, imply that the non-thermal biological and health effects of WC EMFs are induced by the ELF pulsation, modulation and variability, and not by the standalone (non-modulated) RF carrier wave EMFs which can produce only heating.

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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

ExposureRF · Recordings at 10 ms, 100 ms, 1 s, and 2 s sweep times

Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 93% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Outcomes measured

Recorded ELF pulsations of wireless communication EMF signals over time
Characterization of pulse amplitude, shape, duration, and repetition frequency variability in Wi-Fi, 4G, and 5G device emissions

Limitations

No biological or health outcomes were directly measured in the described recordings
Sample size and number of devices/measurements were not stated in the abstract
Carrier frequencies were not reported in the abstract
The abstract includes mechanistic and health-effect implications that are not directly tested by the reported measurements

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "exposure_assessment",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "RF",
    "source": "wi-fi, mobile phone",
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": "Recordings at 10 ms, 100 ms, 1 s, and 2 s sweep times"
  },
  "population": null,
  "sample_size": null,
  "outcomes": [
    "Recorded ELF pulsations of wireless communication EMF signals over time",
    "Characterization of pulse amplitude, shape, duration, and repetition frequency variability in Wi-Fi, 4G, and 5G device emissions"
  ],
  "main_findings": "The study reports time-resolved recordings of emissions from a Wi-Fi router and 4G/5G mobile phones, showing discontinuous on/off pulses repeated at various extremely low frequency rates. The authors state that these signals show substantial variability in pulse amplitude, shape, duration, and repetition frequency.",
  "effect_direction": "unclear",
  "limitations": [
    "No biological or health outcomes were directly measured in the described recordings",
    "Sample size and number of devices/measurements were not stated in the abstract",
    "Carrier frequencies were not reported in the abstract",
    "The abstract includes mechanistic and health-effect implications that are not directly tested by the reported measurements"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.93,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "ELF pulsations",
    "wireless communication",
    "RF",
    "microwave",
    "Wi-Fi",
    "4G",
    "5G",
    "mobile phones",
    "spectrum analyzer",
    "signal variability",
    "modulation",
    "exposure assessment"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "school-wi-fi",
      "weight": 0.62,
      "reason": "The paper explicitly includes Wi-Fi router emissions."
    },
    {
      "slug": "5g-policy",
      "weight": 0.76,
      "reason": "The paper explicitly includes recordings from 5G mobile phones."
    }
  ]
}

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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: 10.1080/15368378.2026.2654072
PubMed: 42002914

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