Lok Sabha Question No. 1757 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-07-26
Subject: Mobile Towers and the Radiations therefrom
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: G. HARI, SRINIVAS KESINENI, HUKUM SINGH, RABINDRA KUMAR JENA

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1757 TO BE ANSWERED ON 26 TH  JULY, 2017

## MOBILE TOWERS AND THE RADIATIONS THEREFROM

1757.  SHRI G . HARI:

SHRI KESINENI NANI:

SHRI HUKUM SINGH:

SHRI RABINDRA KUMAR JENA:

SHRIMATI VANAROJA R.:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  approximately  one  lakh  new  mobile  towers  are  required  annually  to expand and provide seamless services including advanced facilities like 4G , 5G and internet of things, across the country and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether there are nearly five lakh mobile towers across the country and if so, the details thereof, State/UT-wise;
- (c) the  norms/guidelines  laid  down  by  the  Government  for  Electro  Magnetic  Field (EMF) radiation level/limit for mobile towers and the actual EMF radiation level therefrom along with the norms and actual radiation levels in other countries;
- (d) the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) prescribed for mobile handset in the country in comparison to the prescribed SAR of other countries; and
- (e) whether it is a fact that against global radiation standard of 4.5 watts per square metre  in  the  widely  used  900  Megahertz  frequency,  the  stipulation  mandated  in  the country is 0.45 watts per square metre and if so, the details thereof ?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE (IC) OF THE MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS & MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS (SHRI MANOJ SINHA)

- (a) No Madam, for provision of seamless services including advanced facilities like 4G, 5G and Internet of Things (IoT), the Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) are required to expand their network so as to ensure adequate coverage at all the locations where such  services  are  required  to  be  provided.  However,  the  number  of  mobile  towers required  to  be  installed  by  a  TSP  depends  on  the  geographical  area  required  to  be covered, along with other factors and there is no direct connection between the number of mobile towers to be installed annually for provision of such coverage.
- (b) As on 31-05-2017, there are total 4,48,273 mobile towers installed by different TSPs.

The  telecom  licenses  are  issued  Licensed  Service  Area  (LSA)  wise  and accordingly the information about number of mobile towers is maintained LSA-wise and provided at Annexure-A .

(c) Department  of  Telecommunications  (DoT),  in  the  year  2008,  adopted  the International Commission on Non Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) guidelines that are recommended by World Health Organization (WHO) for basic restriction and limiting reference  levels  of  electromagnetic  radiation  from  mobile  towers.  Based  on  the recommendations of an Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC), with effect from 01.09.2012, these  limits  have  been  made  ten  times  more  stringent  than  the  limits  prescribed  by ICNIRP and recommended by WHO. The present Electro Magnetic Frequency (EMF) radiation limits as laid down for Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs) installed on various mobile towers in India are as follows:

| Frequency Range     | E-Field Strength (Volt/Meter)   | H-Field Strength (Amp/Meter)   | Power Density (Watt/Sq.Meter)   |
|---------------------|---------------------------------|--------------------------------|---------------------------------|
| 400 MHz to 2000 MHz | 0.434 f ½                       | 0.0011 f ½                     | f / 2000                        |
| 2 GHz to 300 GHz    | 19.29                           | 0.05                           | 1                               |

(f is frequency in MHz)

With  regard  to  norms  for  Electro  Magnetic  Field  (EMF)  emission  level/limit  in other countries, as per GSMA, the Global Association of Mobile operators, 124 countries have  adopted  ICNIRP  norms  (including    United  Kingdom,  Germany,  France,  Japan, South Korea, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Spain, Poland, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Afghanistan ,Egypt, Nepal, Pakistan, Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, Korea, Iran, South Africa, Saudi Arabia etc.) and 11 countries (including United States of America (USA), Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Iraq etc.) follow  the  Federal  Communication  Commission  (FCC)  limits  (which  are  much  higher than the norms adopted in India). Thus the EMF norms adopted in India is stricter than the EMF norms adopted in all these countries.

Government of India has not only prescribed stringent norms for EMF emission from mobile towers, but has also put in place a well structured process and adequate mechanism  to  ensure  that  Telecommunications  Service  Providers  strictly  adhere  to these prescribed norms.

(d) The present limit/level of Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) for Mobile Handsets in India is also one of the most stringent in the world and is 1.6 Watt per Kg averaged over a mass of one-gram human tissue, at par with USA, Canada and Australia, as against the global standards prescribed by ICNIRP of 2 W/kg averaged over a mass of 10 gm tissue  and  adopted  by  China,  Singapore,  Ghana,  Brazil,  Japan,  Nigeria,  Republic  of Korea etc.

(e) Yes. As has already been mentioned in part (c) above, EMF emission standards adopted in India are ten times more stringent than the global standards prescribed by ICNIRP  and  recommended  by  WHO.  Accordingly,  for  900  MHz  frequency,  the permissible EMF emission limit in India is 0.45 watts per square meter against the global EMF emission standard (as prescribed by ICNIRP and recommended by WHO)of 4.5 watts per square meter.

Contd…3/-

## Licensed Service Area (LSA) wise details of mobile towers installed as on 31-05-2017

| SN   | Name of LSA          | Installed   |
|------|----------------------|-------------|
| 1    | Andhra Pradesh       | 34,621      |
| 2    | Assam                | 10,114      |
| 3    | Bihar                | 29,390      |
| 4    | Delhi                | 19,535      |
| 5    | Gujarat              | 26,071      |
| 6    | Haryana              | 9,898       |
| 7    | Himachal Pradesh     | 5,022       |
| 8    | Jammu and Kashmir    | 7,730       |
| 9    | Karnataka            | 28,236      |
| 10   | Kerala               | 15,851      |
| 11   | Kolkata              | 8,861       |
| 12   | Madhya Pradesh       | 29,846      |
| 13   | Maharashtra          | 35,704      |
| 14   | Mumbai               | 14,407      |
| 15   | North East           | 6,474       |
| 16   | Odisha               | 15,028      |
| 17   | Punjab               | 17,663      |
| 18   | Rajasthan            | 24,277      |
| 19   | Tamil Nadu           | 38,799      |
| 20   | Uttar Pradesh (East) | 29,748      |
| 21   | Uttar Pradesh (West) | 23,303      |
| 22   | West Bengal          | 17,695      |
|      | Grand Total          | 4,48,273    |

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