Empirical Study of the Stochastic Nature of Electromagnetic Field Exposure in Massive MIMO Systems (5G)

Authors: F. Héliot, T. H. Loh, D. Cheadle, Y. Gui, M. Dieudonne

Year: 2022

Category: Telecommunications

Journal: IEEE Access

DOI: 10.1109/ACCESS.2022.3182236

URL: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9794655

Abstract

Overview

This study investigates electromagnetic field (EMF) exposure in the context of massive multiple-input multiple-output (mMIMO) technology used in 5th generation (5G) mobile networks, focusing on the stochastic nature of such exposures.

Findings

Utilization of a fully reconfigurable mMIMO testbed operating at 2.63 GHz mimicked real-world 5G new radio (NR) beamforming performance to collect EMF exposure data in an outdoor environment.
Analysis included data from commercial 5G BS operating at 3.65 GHz to refine findings. Significant variations in EMF exposure relative to beam directions, user number, and environment were noted.
Observations suggested a dynamic exposure environment heavily influenced by user activity and environmental factors.
The study noted that defining exclusion boundaries based on stringent EMF limits, such as those in Belgium, might be inflexible due to observed exposure variabilities.

Conclusion

The study emphasizes the challenges in determining safe exposure limits and exclusion zones due to the stochastic nature of EMF exposure from 5G base stations. It also points to the need for a more adaptable approach considering varying EMF exposure distributions and reflects on potential future studies to extend these findings to mm-wave frequencies.

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