After reading this article you will learn about the norms for cell phone radiation in India.
Till 2009, India had no standards. India adopted the radiation norms specified by ICNIRP in 2009, which are now outdated as they were intended only to protect people against short-term gross heating effects and not ‘biological’ effects such as cancers and genetic damage from long-term exposure.
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This standard is set by International Commission on Nonionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), national Radiological Protection Board (NRPB), and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
Also, these safety standards are based on 6 minutes per day exposure, without accounting for people who live close to cell towers 24/7. The norms allow EMF of 4,500 mw/m2.
Cell Phones and Cell Tower Standards in India- India has adopted ICNIRP guidelines as the standard for safety limits of exposure to radiofrequency energy produced by mobile handsets for general public as follows: whole-body average SAR of 0.08 W/kg, localized SAR for head and trunk of 2 W/kg, and localized SAR for limbs 4 W/kg.
The basic restrictions/proper limits for power density specified in ICNIRP guidelines for safe frequencies between 400 and 2000 MHz, adopted in India, for occupational exposure is 22.5 W/m2, and general public is 4.5 W/m2 for 900 MHz (ICNIRP, 1998).
Antennas of cell tower transmit in the frequency range of 869-890 MHz for CDMA, 935-960 MHz for GSM-900, 1805-1880 MHz for GSM-1800 and 2110-2170 MHz for 3G. Wi-Fi frequency range is 2.4 GHz, WiMAX is 2.5-3.3 GHz, and 4G LTE is 2.99 GHz.
There are different types of base stations used by operators in India and they include the macro cell, micro cell, or pico cell. Categorization is based on the purpose of the site rather than in terms of technical constraints such as radiated power or antenna height.
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In India, macro cellular base station provide the main infrastructure for a mobile phone network and their antennas are mounted at sufficient height to give them a clear view over the surrounding geographical area.
The maximum power for individual macro cellular base station transmitter is 20 W. According to FCC (1999), depending on the cell tower height, the majority of cellular base stations in urban and suburban areas operate at an effective radiated power (ERP) of 100 W per channel or less. ERP is a quantity that takes into consideration transmitter power and antenna directivity.
An ERP of 100 W corresponds to an actual radiated power of about 5-10 W, depending on the type of antenna used. In urban areas, an ERP of 10 W per channel (corresponding to a radiated power of 0.5-1 W) or less is commonly used.
