Analysis of the Actual Power and EMF Exposure from Base Stations in a Commercial 5G Network

Davide Colombi,Paramananda Joshi,Fatemeh Ghasemifard,Vignesh Narasaraju,Bo Xu,Christer Törnevik

doi:10.3390/app10155280

Abstract

In this work, monitoring of the transmit power for several base stations operating in a live 5G network (Telstra, Australia) was conducted with the purpose of analyzing the radio frequency (RF) electromagnetic field (EMF) exposure levels. The base stations made use of state-of-the-art massive MIMO antennas utilizing beamforming in order to optimize the signal strength at the user’s device. In order to characterize the actual EMF exposure from 5G base stations, knowledge of the amount of power dynamically allocated to each beam is therefore of importance. Experimental data on the spatial distribution of the base stations’ transmit power were gathered directly from the network by extracting information on the radio and baseband operations. Out of more than 13 million samples collected over 24 h, the maximum time-averaged power per beam direction was found to be well-below the theoretical maximum and lower than what was predicted by the existing statistical models. The results show that assuming constant peak power transmission in a fixed beam direction leads to an unrealistic EMF exposure assessment. This work provides insights relevant for the standardization of EMF compliance assessment methodologies applicable for 5G base stations.

Highlights

The first 5G NR commercial networks were launched in 2019, and the number of exposure limits, such as those specified by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing RadiationProtection [2]
electromagnetic field (EMF) measurement surveys of 5G base stations (BSs) have been conducted in some countries [3,4], and typical exposure levels in areas accessible by the general public were found to be thousands of times below the limit values and similar to those of other existing mobile technologies (2G, 3G, and 4G)
Pavg as a function each fifteen-minute interval, this was conservatively as the sampleinofSection the six-minute each fifteen-minute was all conservatively taken as the largest sample of purposes, the six-minute time-averaged powerinterval, reportedthis among samples in the distribution

Summary

Introduction

The first 5G NR (new radio) commercial networks were launched in 2019, and the number of exposure limits, such as those specified by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing RadiationProtection [2]. The first 5G NR (new radio) commercial networks were launched in 2019, and the number of exposure limits, such as those specified by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation. EMF measurement surveys of 5G BSs have been conducted in some countries [3,4], and typical exposure levels in areas accessible by the general public were found to be thousands of times below the limit values and similar to those of other existing mobile technologies (2G, 3G, and 4G). BSs are characterized by a larger variability of transmitted signals in time and space. In order to take this into account, specific measurement techniques to assess the exposure levels in proximity of 5G massive MIMO BSs have been developed [5,6,7].

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion