Economic Impact of stricter EMF limits on the Roll-Out of Mobile Broadband Networks – Calculations from Italy and Poland
The report analyses specific cases where national/local legislations through the adoption of extremely restrictive electromagnetic field (EMF) exposure limits have negatively affected the rollout of faster mobile broadband.
Adoption of restrictive EMF exposure limits that are without a credible scientific basis is sometimes seen as a politically attractive response to concerns expressed by some members of the community. But these measures can restrict 4G/LTE deployment in a number of ways: reduced flexibility in network deployment; reduced coverage (particularly indoors); reduced opportunities for site sharing; and an increase in the number of base stations needed to deliver the same level of service.
This paper assesses the economic impact of these arbitrarily restrictive EMF exposure limits on mobile network roll-out in two countries: Italy and Poland, reinforcing the conclusions of our report “Arbitrary Radio Frequency exposure limits: Impact on 4G network deployment”.