As industrialized countries race to install and deploy 5G networks, some countries have taken the lead and already have operational 5G networks in place. South Korea is among these. In this study, we measured exposure to electromagnetic fields in South Korea to evaluate the relative contribution of 5G as compared with other frequencies such as 2G, 3G, and 4G. Results show that the emission of 5G contributes about 15% to total telecommunications emissions. The highest levels were observed in the vicinity of 5G antennas and remain below the limits set by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). Bioelectromagnetics.
The number of fifth generation (5G) base stations (BSs) installed for commercial services continues to increase in South Korea since the first 5G rollout of the 3.5 GHz band in 2019. However, this will cause cause a rapid increase in the cost and effort required for an electromagnetic field (EMF) installation compliance measurements of a 5G BS. This paper studies an appropriate measurement spacing for EMF installation compliance assessments of a 3.5 GHz 5G BS. Ray-tracing simulations based on the ray frustum technique are performed for three installation scenarios according to the accessibility categories provided in the International Telecommunication Union-T K.52 recommendation to observe the power density exposure trends. An interference analysis using the two-ray propagation model indicates that the spacing of 1 m can be suitable for the installation compliance of a 5G BS above 3 GHz. In addition, it was found that this spacing could be also applied up to the higher frequency of 7.125 GHz, the upper limit of Frequency Range 1 defined in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project specification. Measurements based on two different 5G signal extrapolations using the Synchronization Signal Block were conducted to validate the spacing of 1 m for a 3.5 GHz 5G BS established by simulation studies.
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