5G Small Cell RF Emissions

Some people apparently worry about the radio frequency emissions from small cells using millimeter wave spectrum for cell phone service.  The concern about RF exposure is not new; we have periodically debated it as long as I can remember. There is no conclusive evidence, yet. The advice for cell phone users in the 2G era was to limit time spent talking on the phone, when device transmit levels were higher. Transmit levels have fallen since 3G and will be lower in the 5G era in small cells (power has to be limited to prevent interference. 

There are some potential risks humans take these days, such as flying on planes. A transcontinental U.S. flight produces about the same amount of X-ray radiation as a chest X-ray. So one essentially has to balance the value of transportation by plane with the risk of essentially one more chest X-ray. 

We do this every day, as there is some statistical risk of auto accidents when driving or riding in cars, for example. Those of us who live at higher altitudes above 3,000 feet are exposed to more solar radiation than those at sea level. 

Risks of using technology are non-zero (over time, you might develop carpal tunnel syndrome from too much keyboarding). The benefits are quite high, though. 

So we pay attention to posture, chair and table height, arm angles, and might even buy special keyboards when using our PCs. 

Use of all technology has some non-zero risk: have you ever dropped a hammer on your toe? So you wear boots with stout toe reinforcement if you are going to be doing a lot of hammering. 

But back to phones and talking, most people talk less than they used to, on phones with lower transmit power, devices held away from the head (earbuds, ear phones, speaker or Skyping). We text more, which reduces talking. 

In other words, we accept some amount of risk to avail ourselves of technology benefits. Quite often, risk can be mitigated. So do so when you can. 

Small cells or millimeter wave communications are on the list of technologies with high value and some non-zero risk.