RF Safety in Future Wireless Communications
5G RF Safety
This project is in collaboration with RF Check, and other industry partners, including interested CWC member companies. The focus of this project will be to determine how RF emissions from the antennas of 5G base stations and small cells deployed in homes, buildings and neighborhoods, including sub-6 GHz and mmWave, may impact human exposure levels based on various technology parameters and implementations for commercial deployments as per existing RF emission regulations. This will be accomplished with RF Check experts and experts from the Industry Partners and Companies involved in Wireless Industry related to RF.
The outcomes of this project will be:
- Publicize the RF Safety Parameters: Publish the Study results and propose any new methodology or formulas identified that can further address or improve the issue of RF safety and human exposure at base stations.
- Address specific public concerns regarding RF safety (at cell sites or base stations), especially with respect to new technology such as 5G
- Provide objective data to allow the public to make informed decisions regarding the safety of base stations (e.g. 5G exposure levels comparison to other accepted wireless technologies)
- Provide report on conclusions on the safety of base stations that would be recognized by the specific community
- Contribute to updating of the Industry Standards related to Base Station Antenna RF Exposure, Compliance and Safety in appropriate Industry Organizations.
More details about the project and timelines are below.
Project Goal:
Determine how RF emissions from Base Stations/Cell Sites/Small Cells/etc. impact human exposure levels based on various technology parameters and implementation including:
- Wireless Spectrum (Licensed and Unlicensed) Globally – Low-band, Mid-band, High-band as defined in 3GPP
- Frequency (FDD & TDD) and Bandwidth
- Antenna Technology & Size
- MIMO – 2x2, 4x4, Massive MIMO
- 64 QAM, 256 QAM, 1024 QAM
- mmWave
- Antenna Arrays
- Beam Forming
- Carrier Aggregation
- Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS)
- Narrowband IOT (NB-IOT)
Some of the steps required for this project:
- RF & EMF Measurements Parameters: For each existing and new technology, determine the RF safety related parameters to be measured to determine compliance with current Regulatory guidelines.
- Measurements Tools/Equipment: Identify the Tools & Equipment to measure the RF safety parameters
- Measurement Methodology: Create the Measurement Test Plan and perform the measurements.
- Validate the Results: Based on the data collected and related formulas, review the results and solicit feedback from industry experts and validate conclusions.
- Publicize the RF Safety Parameters: Publish the Study results and propose any new methodology or formulas identified that can further address or improve the issue of RF safety and human exposure at base stations. Work with Wireless Carriers, Industry Organizations and Industry Technical Experts to gain support.
- Address specific public concerns regarding RF safety (at cell sites or base stations), especially with respect to new technology such as 5G
- Provide objective data to allow the public to make informed decisions regarding the safety of base stations (e.g. 5G exposure levels comparison to other accepted wireless technologies
- Provide independent (involvement by universities, technical experts, regulators) report on conclusions on the safety of base stations that would be recognized by the specific community
- Update the Industry RF Safety Standards: Update the Industry Standards related to Base Station Antenna RF Exposure, Compliance and Safety in appropriate Industry Organizations - (IEEE/ICES/ICNIRP/FCC).
Phases Based on the project goals, some of the technology parameters can be implemented and evaluated using existing or already developed devices at UCSD. However, some parameters need development of new equipment which demand longer time for development, implementation and measurements. We segregate the technology parameters into two sets – Set 1: the parameters can be tested with existing USRP N310 devices and 60 GHz millimeter-wave software radios at UCSD, and Set 2: this will engage in measuring parameters with 28 GHz software radio and sub-6 GHz massive MIMO radios. In particular, we can evaluate the following technology parameters for each set as mentioned in the table below.
Set 1 |
Set 2 |
1. Impacts of different spectrum below 6 GHz (Licensed and Unlicensed). 2. Impacts of modulation schemes (64 QAM, 256 QAM, 1024 QAM). 3. Impact of sub-6GHz carrier aggregation. 4. Emission power of millimeter-wave frequency bands. 5. Impacts of analog beamforming and hybrid beamforming at 60 GHz millimeter-wave bands. 6. Impacts of antenna array configurations at 60 GHz (multi-array with different layout and array combinations) 7. Impact of dynamic spectrum sharing (e.g., LTE unlicensed). 8. Power emission from NB-IoT. |
1. Emission power of millimeter-wave frequency bands around 28 GHz (used by 5G NR). 2. Impacts of analog beamforming and hybrid beamforming at 28 GHz millimeter-wave bands. 3. Power emission from MIMO and massive MIMO beamforming (2x2, 4x4, 32- antenna Massive MIMO) at sub-6 GHz frequencies |
The development for set 2 will take longer time and therefore we propose to split the project in two phases over two years of time period. Majority of the tasks for set 1 are expected to be completed in phase 1 in the first year.
Project Tasks
The following tasks in the two phases of the projects:
Phase 1: (Year 1)
Y1T1: Literature review about prior work in health impacts of RF emissions, a summary of the differences between prior and next generation wireless systems, and a summary of current regulations for RF emission from wireless communications (in particular, 4G, WiFi, and 5G NR). Consultation with Wireless Industry RF experts on Technical requirements & details as per the industry guidelines.
Y1T2: Prepare a test plan that explicitly outlines the testbed (including test devices to be used), proposed measurements, measurement locations, and timelines for execution.
Y1T3: Based on an already developed testbed, start testing/measurement/evaluation of selected technology parameters of Set 1 (items 1-4) in the UCSD campus; invite partner/sponsor to campus to demonstrate at Jacobs/Atkinsons Hall and obtain feedback.
Y1T4: Continue measurement campaign for the parameters of set 1 (items 1-4, and new parameters 5-8); Deliver a summary report along with measurement data and evaluation of the parameters.
Y1T5: Start development of the testbed (equipment needed) for Set 2.
YIT6: Publicize the research and findings; (1) Discuss the goals and plans for the research at a panel at the CWC 5G and Beyond Forum, with panel moderated by RF Check and panel participants from various stakeholders like UCSD, telecom operators, industry organizations, FCC etc. (2) Publish results in leading IEEE conferences.
Phase 2: (Year 2)
Y2T1: Develop testbed for Set 2, including acquiring and deploying new devices needed.
Y2T2: Evaluate the technology parameters of Set 2 in the UCSD campus. Solicit feedback, review the parameters for Set 1 and Set 2, and redo some of the measurements if necessary.
Y2T3: A more comprehensive measurement campaign for the parameters (both set 1 and 2). Deliver a summary report along with measurement data and findings.
Y2T4: Create a final report, publish the results at leading technical conference(s) and journal(s), including measurement dataset, and any new methodology and formula.
Y2T5: Publicize the research findings at the CWC 5G and Beyond Forum and other partner Forums; Work with one or more of the wireless organizations like CTIA, GSMA, TIP and NGMN to organize a session at their forum(s) to publicize the findings.