The ANFR is publishing a report on wave exposure measurements from 5G experiments and is proposing a new exposure measurement indicator
The French National Frequency Agency (ANFR) is completing its study on 5G and publishing a report on the exposure values measured during several 5G pilot deployments conducted in France. The results obtained have led the ANFR to propose a new wave exposure measurement indicator taking into account the specific characteristics of 5G networks.
This report is part of a general reflection on the assessment of public exposure to electromagnetic waves from 5G networks. The first part was a general presentation of 5G from an exposure point of view. This second part covers several representative pilot deployments conducted in France to assess full-scale exposure produced by 5G steered beam antennas in the 3.5 GHz band.
The measurements were taken using the applicable ANFR measurement protocol, before and after the powering up of sites representing various operator, manufacturer and antenna type configurations.
A first series of measurements was taken without traffic as the sites were not open to subscribers at the time. These results show that, on 43 sites, the average exposure level was 0.06 V/m, with a maximum level of 0.36 V/m. With 5G sites powered on but with no traffic, the exposure levels are therefore very low. They are well below the regulatory limit value of 61 V/m in the 3.5 GHz frequency band.
Measurements were also taken at a few sites in specific test configurations, in particular with continuous data traffic in an artificially blocked beam in a given direction and during a 1 GB file download. The results show a significant variation in the level of exposure depending on the intensity of use. The ANFR was therefore led to propose a new indicator to better reflect the average exposure likely to be created by 5G steered beam relays. The assumptions used to define this indicator will be compared with the exposure measurements made in the field when the 5G commercial networks are deployed. The indicator will therefore be refined based on actual traffic configurations.
