scope:

This Recommendation¹ gives guidance on how to assess and monitor human exposure to radio frequency (RF) electromagnetic fields (EMFs) in areas with surrounding telecommunication installations, such as base stations (BSs) as defined in [IEC 62232], radiocommunication installations based on existing exposure and compliance standards in the 8.3 kHz to 300 GHz range. This Recommendation presents and references in clear and simple ways, procedures for evaluating exposure and how to show compliance with exposure limits. Existing standards are product or service oriented. This Recommendation is oriented to the examination of the area accessible to people in the real environment of currently operated services with many different sources of RF EMFs, but also gives references to standards and Recommendations related to EMF compliance of products.

[b-ITU-T K-Sup.1] provides EMF information and education resources suitable for all communities, stakeholders and governments. It gives answers to questions commonly posed by the public on EMF and to related concerns. [b-ITU-T K-Sup.1] is also available as a mobile application that is available from http://emfguide.itu.int/emfguide.html. [b-ITU-T K-Sup.4] presents EMF considerations for smart sustainable cities. In [b-ITU-T K-Sup.9] discusses the main impact of 5G technology on human exposure to RF EMFs. [b-ITU-T K-Sup.13] provides information concerning RF-EMF exposure levels from mobile and portable devices during different conditions of use. In [b-ITU-T K-Sup.14] presents the impact of RF-EMF exposure limits stricter than the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) guidelines or Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) limits on 4G and 5G mobile network deployment. [b-ITU-T K-Sup.16] provides information concerning RF-EMF compliance assessments for 5G wireless networks.

¹ This Recommendation includes an electronic attachment containing an uncertainty calculator, ITU EMF-guide and the Watt guard applications.