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The FDA shares regulatory responsibilities for wireless phones
with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). All
phones that are sold in the United States must comply with
FCC safety guidelines that limit RF exposure. FCC relies on
FDA and other health agencies for safety questions about wire-
less phones.
FCC also regulates the base stations that the wireless phone
networks rely upon. While these base stations operate at high-
er power than do the wireless phones themselves, the RF
exposures that people get from these base stations are typi-
cally thousands of times lower than those they can get from
wireless phones. Base stations are thus not the subject of the
safety questions discussed in this document.
3. What kinds of phones are the subject of this update?
The term “wireless phone” refers here to hand-held wireless
phons with built-in antennas, often called “cell”, “mobile”, or
“PCS” phones. These types of wireless phones can expose the
user to measurable radiofrequency energy(RF) because of the
short distance between the phone and the user’s head.
These RF exposures are limited by Federal Communications
Commission safety guidelines that were developed with the
advice of FDA and other federal health and safety agencies.
When the phone is located at greater distances from the user,
the exposure to RF is drastically lower because a person's RF
exposure decreases rapidly with increasing distance from the
source. The so-called "cordless phones," which have a base
unit connected to the telephone wiring in a house, typically
operate at far lower power levels, and thus produce RF expo-
sures far below the FCC safety limits.
Safety
Safety
RD2230
