title: Assessment and comparison of total RF-EMF exposure in femtocell and macrocell base station scenarios.
abstract: The indoor coverage of a mobile service can be drastically improved by deployment of an indoor femtocell base station (FBS). However, the impact of its proximity on the total exposure of the human body to radio-frequency (RF) electromagnetic fields (EMFs) is unknown. Using a framework designed for the combination of near-field and far-field exposure, the authors assessed and compared the RF-EMF exposure of a mobile-phone (MP) user that is either connected to an FBS or a conventional macrocell base station while in an office environment. It is found that, in average macrocell coverage and MP use-time conditions and for Universal Mobile Telecommunications System technology, the total exposure can be reduced by a factor of 20-40 by using an FBS, mostly due to the significant decrease in the output power of the MP. In general, the framework presented in this study can be used for any exposure scenario, featuring any number of technologies, base stations and/or access points, users and duration.
authors.affiliation: Department of Information Technology, Ghent University/iMinds, Gaston Crommenlaan 8 Box 201, Ghent B-9050, Belgium sam.aerts@intec.ugent.be.
authors.forename: Sam
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aerts
authors.affiliation: Department of Information Technology, Ghent University/iMinds, Gaston Crommenlaan 8 Box 201, Ghent B-9050, Belgium.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Plets
authors.affiliation: Department of Information Technology, Ghent University/iMinds, Gaston Crommenlaan 8 Box 201, Ghent B-9050, Belgium.
authors.forename: Leen
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Verloock
authors.affiliation: Department of Information Technology, Ghent University/iMinds, Gaston Crommenlaan 8 Box 201, Ghent B-9050, Belgium.
authors.forename: Luc
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Martens
authors.affiliation: Department of Information Technology, Ghent University/iMinds, Gaston Crommenlaan 8 Box 201, Ghent B-9050, Belgium.
authors.forename: Wout
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Joseph
mesh_terms: D040421:Cell Phone; D003198:Computer Simulation; D004574:Electromagnetic Fields; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D011834:Radiation Monitoring; D011846:Radio Waves; D059015:Wireless Technology / Q000295:instrumentation