Understanding EME & Radio Communications
Telstra places high importance on effective and responsible management of EME issues.
Telstra acknowledges some people are genuinely concerned about possible health effects from the EME generated by radio frequency technology and is committed to addressing these concerns responsibly.
This website offers information about EME, how mobile networks and mobile phones operate, what the safety standards are for mobile phones and network infrastructure, and how Telstra operates its networks responsibly in order to minimise community impacts.
- What is EME?
- What is radiofrequency EME?
- Common Sources of RF EME
- Radiofrequency in History
- EME and Mobile Communications
- EME Safety Regulations
- Assessment of Possible Health Impacts
We also recommend you visit the EMF Explained web site which is an information resource for people interested in a better understanding of radio frequency electromagnetic fields (EMF) and wireless issues.
What is EME?
Electromagnetic energy (EME), also known as electromagnetic radiation (EMR), is the energy stored in an electromagnetic field. It occurs naturally - the earth, the sun, and the ionosphere are all natural sources of EME in our every day lives.
All forms of EME are collectively referred to as the electromagnetic spectrum. The properties of EME vary with wavelength or frequency and EME from different parts of the spectrum interacts with matter differently. For example, UV light interacts with matter differently to radiofrequency signals.
The electromagnetic spectrum has been harnessed to create a wide range of technologies including radio communications, television, electric power, radar, microwave ovens, magnetic resonance imaging, toasters, cameras, lasers and X-ray machines.
The word "radiation" often brings to mind radioactive materials and x-rays. However, radiofrequency EME does not behave like the radiation from radio active material or x-rays. Radiofrequency EME is transmitted by communications systems as radio waves - electromagnetic waves that have the capacity to transmit sound, music, speech, pictures and other data invisibly through the air.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) makes the distinction between different types of electromagnetic energy:
"It is important not to confuse such RF fields with ionizing radiation, such as X-rays or gamma rays. Unlike ionizing radiation, RF fields cannot cause ionization or radioactivity in the body. Because of this, RF fields are called non-ionizing."
WHO Fact Sheet: Electromagnetic Fields and Public Health - Mobile Telephones and their Base Stations, 2000
Further information on the Electromagnetic Spectrum is available from the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA)
What is radiofrequency EME?
All radio communications systems utilise EME in the radiofrequency (RF) part of the electromagnetic spectrum between 3 kilohertz (kHz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). These include TV, AM & FM radio broadcasting, mobile phones and their base stations, paging services, cordless phones, baby monitors, police radio, fire services, ambulance services and rural communications (including the Royal Flying Doctor Service).
This picture shows the typical power of the radio services in the community when transmitting.
Common Sources of RF EME
People have been living with radiofrequency energy in the environment for generations, since the invention of "the wireless". The principles of radio communications and its first technologies date back to the 1880s.
Radiofrequency in History
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1895 | Guglielmo Marconi transmits his first radio signal |
| 1906 | Lee De Forest invents AM radio |
| 1920s | AM radio commercially broadcast to mass audiences |
| 1925 | John Logie Baird and Charles Jenkins experiment with television - transmitting the first live pictures |
| 1930s | FM radio is commercially broadcast United States Navy pioneers military radar technology |
| 1956 | Black and white TV is introduced to Australia Robert Adler invents the first remote control, the "Zenith Space Commander" |
| 1973 | Martin Cooper makes the first ever call on a hand-held mobile phone |
| 1975 | Colour TV is introduced to Australia |
| 1987 | Telstra introduces the first mobile phone network to Australia - the AMPS or Analogue Mobile Phone System |
| 1993 | Telstra introduces the first digital mobile network to Australia - the GSM (Global Mobile System) network |
| 1999 | Telstra introduces the 1st CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) mobile technology to Australia |
| 2000 | The AMPS mobile network is turned off and CDMA expanded to rural areas |
| 2003 | Telstra introduces the first 3rd generation mobile network on CDMA |
| 2006 | Telstra introduces Australia's largest and fastest national mobile network, the Next G network |
You can find all licensed radio communications in Australia on the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) Register of Licensed Radio communications.
EME and Mobile Communications
Mobile phones use a low-powered radio signal to communicate with the mobile and public telephone networks. Mobile network base stations also transmit and receive low-powered radio signals to communicate with mobile phones.
The health impact of these radio signals is assessed in two ways. Firstly, it is assessed in terms of the direct impact on the mobile phone user. Secondly, it is assessed in terms of the ambient impact of radiofrequency signals in the environment on the general public.
For a mobile phone, mandatory safety standards limit the amount of radio frequency energy that can be absorbed in a persons head or body. For a base station, mandatory safety standards limit strength of the signal (or radiofrequency EME) that people can be exposed to in accessible areas.
EME Safety Regulations
In Australia mobile network communications are regulated by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA). The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) in the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing advises the ACMA on safety standards for mobile communications and other radiofrequency signal transmissions.
In 2002 ARPANSA advised the ACMA to adopt a safety standard based on the safety standards recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The United States, United Kingdom and European Union have also adopted the safety standards recommended by the WHO for mobile phones and mobile network base stations.
- Mobile Phones & Health - Safety Standard
- Mobile Base Stations & Health - Safety Regulations
- ARPANSA Radiofrequency Radiation Exposure Standard (PDF, 69.4KB)
Assessment of Possible Health Impacts
Safety standards are based on careful analysis of the scientific literature (both thermal and non-thermal effects) and are designed to offer protection against identified health effects of EME with a large in-built safety margin.
Telstra relies on the expert advice of national and international health authorities such as the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) - and the World Health Organisation (WHO) for overall assessments of health and safety impacts.
The WHO and other public health authorities advise that there is no substantiated scientific evidence that radiofrequency technologies that operate within national and international safety standards, including mobile phones and base stations, cause health effects.
ARPANSA provides the following advice:
Base Stations - "No adverse health effects are expected from continuous exposure to the RF radiation emitted by the antennas on mobile telephone base station towers."Source: ARPANSA
Mobile Phones - "There is no clear evidence in the existing scientific literature that the use of mobile telephones poses a long-term public health hazard (although the possibility of a small risk cannot be ruled out)."Source: ARPANSA
The WHO provides the following advice:
"To date, all expert reviews on the health effects of exposure to RF [radiofrequency] fields have reached the same conclusion: there have been no adverse health consequences established from exposure to RF fields at levels below the international guidelines on exposure limits published by the International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP, 1998)."World Health Organisation Clarification Statement: Children and Mobile Phones, 2005
The WHO also provides the following conclusions from scientific research:
"In the area of biological effects and medical applications of non-ionizing radiation approximately 25,000 articles have been published over the past 30 years. Despite the feeling of some people that more research needs to be done, scientific knowledge in this area is now more extensive than for most chemicals. Based on a recent in-depth review of the scientific literature, the WHO concluded that current evidence does not confirm the existence of any health consequences from exposure to low level electromagnetic fields. However, some gaps in knowledge about biological effects exist and need further research."Source: WHO web site
