To improve 5G user experience and resolve network issues around it, the department of telecommunications (DoT) is looking at increasing the present limit of electromagnetic field (EMF) radiations of mobile towers, sources said.
It is felt that there’s a need to increase the tower radiation limit as currently 5G smartphones are experiencing quick battery drainage. This is because they consume more power while receiving 5G network signals from towers, which are installed at longer distances. Since the towers also emit less power based on the government norms, this in a way puts burden on smartphones to maintain right 5G connectivity.
Further, one of the biggest issues with regard to 5G mobile services is in-building connectivity with many users complaining of low or no signals when on the 5G network and poor quality voice calls, officials said.
The plan is to increase the emission limit of towers to improve the quality of 5G services, an official said, adding that it is not feasible to install towers at shorter distances given the same will increase infrastructure rollout costs for telcos significantly.
Notably, India follows strict tower emission norms, which is 10 times stringent than that followed by most of the countries. The radiation cap is also way lower than the safe limit prescribed by the International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) and recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
DoT has been holding discussions on the changes in EMF radiation norms and by how much the tower radiation limit can be increased.
Officials said the tower emissions limit in India is already way lower than prescribed limit and increasing the same is not expected to have a harmful impact on the environment and citizens health. However, any decision with regard to increasing the limits will be taken after proper testing, an official said.
Telecom operators have been demanding that India’s EMF norms should be at par with global standards.
As of October 13, there are a total of 809,727 towers installed in the country. So far, a total of 457,179 5G base transceiver stations (BTSs) have been installed.