Mobile Phone Base Stations and Radiofrequency Radiation

IMDA works closely with the National Environment Agency (NEA), the national authority for radiation protection, to ensure that RF radiation safety requirements from mobile phone base stations are met.

The Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore (IMDA), as the telecommunications regulatory authority, regulates the use of radiofrequency (RF) spectrum in Singapore. In particular, IMDA requires its licensees to comply with prescribed technical specifications, such as the emission power of mobile phone base stations.  IMDA also works closely with the National Environment Agency (NEA), the national authority for radiation protection, to ensure that RF radiation from mobile phone base stations are within the guidelines developed by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP¹). These ICNIRP guidelines are adopted by the World Health Organization (WHO).

With the popularity of mobile phone use today, IMDA requires mobile phone service providers to ensure the deployment of more base stations to deliver good quality service for its users. As of December 2016, the mobile phone penetration rate in Singapore was 148.9 per cent. Relating to the growth in the number of base stations, there has been a corresponding increase in the number of public queries on the health effects associated with exposure to RF radiation from mobile phones and their base stations. As such, these Frequently-Asked-Questions (FAQs) aim to address IMDA’s role as the telecommunications regulatory authority in relation to its licensees’ operation of mobile phone base stations.

¹ ICNIRP is the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection. It is a body of independent scientific experts addressing the important issues of possible adverse effects on human health of exposure to non-ionising radiation.