BfS recommends careful 5G expansion

25 March, 2019.

The German Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) recommends, in view of the auctioning of 5G mobile radio frequencies, to pay attention to radiation protection during expansion.

For the 5G mobile communications standard, the first step is to use the frequencies we already use in mobile communications. The effect of electromagnetic radiation from mobile phones on humans has been well researched. Below the current limit values, no health effects have been demonstrated.

In a few years, 5G will add higher frequencies whose effects have not been researched so well. BfS advises a prudent expansion of 5G and will further explore the impact of the new frequency ranges. With the expansion of 5G, there will probably be more transmission towers, each with a lower transmission power.
In the respective expansion steps of 5G must therefore be examined whether people are exposed to a higher amount of radiation. In addition, the BfS will investigate possible effects of the new frequency ranges in more detail.

Even after the introduction of 5G, BfS assume that your own cell phone is the biggest source of mobile phone radiation in everyday life. That's why it recommends everyone to minimize their exposure to the cell phone that:
- Use a landline instead of the cell phone.
- When using the mobile phone with a mobile phone use a headset, because the radiation decreases rapidly with the distance to the mobile phone.
- Pay attention to the SAR value when buying a mobile phone. It indicates the energy that the body absorbs when making a phone call. A list of the SAR values of common mobile phones can be found on BfS website.
Further information (only in German) is available from:
http://www.bfs.de/SharedDocs/Stellungnahmen/BfS/DE/2019/0320-5G.html