Abstract
In March 2020, the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) released its new guidelines (ICNIRP 2020) on the limitation of radio frequency (RF) electromagnetic fields (EMF) exposure in the frequency range 100 kHz–300 GHz. These have taken several years to develop and include the review of the latest scientific literature. Most countries worldwide currently apply the RF-EMF exposure limits provided in the ICNIRP 1998 guidelines and are expected to align their regulations according to the recently revised limits. In this paper, the implications of the ICNIRP 2020 guidelines on the RF-EMF compliance of base stations (BSs) for mobile communications are analyzed in detail. The study covers different types of BS products, from low-power small cells to macro cell equipment, operating within different frequency bands and of relevance for 2G to 5G mobile technologies. A direct comparison of the BS RF-EMF exclusion zones (or compliance boundaries), when the ICNIRP 2020 and the ICNIRP 1998 limits are applied, is provided. Since existing and future mobile equipment infrastructure is likely to be required to comply with the ICNIRP 2020 guidelines, the paper provides useful information to mobile equipment manufacturers, mobile operators, standardization bodies and regulators.
Highlights
On March 11, 2020, ICNIRP released new guidelines, referred in this report as “ICNIRP 2020,” for exposure to RF EMF in the frequency range 100 kHz–300 GHz (ICNIRP, 2020a)
Since the objective of this work is to study the implications of the updated EMF limits rather than to determine the EMF compliance distance for specific products, the broad choice of frequencies, antenna types, and power levels allows to draw general conclusions on the impact of the ICNIRP 2020 guidelines on EMF compliance of BSs
Since ICNIRP 2020 reference levels for local exposure are higher than what is applied according to ICNIRP 1998, the new guidelines could result in a smaller exposure ratio for these regions
Summary
On March 11, 2020, ICNIRP released new guidelines, referred in this report as “ICNIRP 2020,” for exposure to RF EMF in the frequency range 100 kHz–300 GHz (ICNIRP, 2020a). Mobile equipment, including BSs and mobile devices, need to comply with RF EMF exposure limits, such as those recommended by ICNIRP. These exposure limits are set far below the lowest level required to cause adverse health effects which are related to induced heating in the body. Several studies have analyzed the implications that the Implications of ICNIRP 2020 on Base Stations international exposure guidelines have on the design, operation, and deployment of mobile equipment. To the knowledge of the authors, no study evaluating the implications of EMF compliance with ICNIRP 2020 for BSs exists
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