Mobile Phone User Exposure Assessment to UMTS and LTE Signals at Mobile Data Turn on by Applying an Original Method

In order to provide assessment of mobile phone user exposure to electromagnetic fields emitted in the close vicinity of a mobile device we have measured real life UMTS and LTE signals at mobile data turn on. The paper presents some preliminary results of mobile phone user exposure assessment at mobile data turn by making use of a non-standardized procedure that enables the calculus of the radiated signal energy and duty cycle. Our results sustain that higher user exposure is expected within the first minute after mobile data is switched on as higher duty cycles and more than a third of the total radiated energy is found in this time period, as compared to the total signal monitoring time. Authors expect increased exposure if other application services are launched within this time frame. Moreover, special attention should be paid to user exposure assessment in the case of active call services with mobile data turned on. Because SAR is currently the sole standardized metrics in dosimetry, the authors propose the use of the measured signal radiated energy as well as the calculated duty cycle as complementary indicators of user exposure to electromagnetic fields in order to provide a more comprehensive view on mobile phone radiation exposure.