Public exposure

The role of the ANFR

The ANFR makes sure that the limit values for the exposure of the general public to waves is respected and manages the national wave monitoring and measurement system. A National Dialogue Committee has been created within the ANFR by the legislation to exchange with the actors, share information, publish it and favour public trust. The ANFR also participates in the 5G pilots to create checking tools and in the consultation on the exposure of the general public created by 5G.  

The ANFR supports the first mobile phone operator pilot 5G deployments in the 3.5 GHz band and works with all the players to characterise 5G networks in terms of exposure of the general public to electromagnetic waves. In the future, the new 5G bands (for example 26 GHz), will have higher frequencies in the millimetric bands, corresponding to the frequency bands of which the wavelength is in the order of a millimetre. 

In its millimetric bands, exposure remains local to the skin surface and the exposure is no longer measured using the specific absorption rate (SAR) but by the surface power density (SPD).

ANFR is 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 in the field exposure produced by 5G steered beam antennas in the 3.5 GHz band.

• First measurement results on 5G pilots in the 3,400-3,800 MHz band (PDF - 4,7 Mo)

Une plongée au cœur de la 5G

Le nouveau réseau 5G de téléphonie mobile se déploie rapidement en France et soulève un grand nombre de questions, notamment sur l’exposition du public aux ondes électromagnétiques : comment fonctionne la 5G ? Quel est son impact sur notre exposition aux ondes ? Comment est-elle contrôlée ?  L’Agence nationale des fréquences (ANFR), qui est l’organisme public chargé de veiller en France au respect des valeurs limites d’exposition, répond dans ce podcast à ces interrogations, par la voix de ses experts et en collaboration avec l’Institut National de la Consommation.