State of the science regarding RF dosimetry, measurement and certification

Abstract

Journal ArticleCellular telephones and wireless personal communication systems (PCS) are being introduced into society at a very rapid rate. Whereas the present-day cellular telephones in the United States operate at midband transmission frequencies of about 835 MHz (about 900 MHz in Europe), higher frequencies on the order of 1900 MHz (1800 MHz in Europe) are to be used for the PCS systems, including mobile telephones, wireless local area networks, pagers, personal health monitoring systems, global positioning systems, etc. This has resulted in public concern about the health hazards of radiofrequency (RF) electromagnetic fields that are emitted by these devices. To allay public concerns, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States has decided to require compliance with the ANSI/IEEE RF safety guidelines (American National Standards Institute/Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers [ANSI/IEEE], 1992) for uncontrolled environments for all personal wireless devices that use more than 100 mW of time-averaged input power to the antenna