{
  "id": "emitters:5g-small-cell",
  "collection": "emitters",
  "slug": "5g-small-cell",
  "name": "5G small cell / street-level node",
  "summary": "Pole-mounted nodes radiate roughly 10 W EIRP at street level, putting a residence 10 m away at about 8,000 µW/m² on the main beam — far below regulatory limits but often above precautionary building-biology bands.",
  "status": "verified",
  "lastVerified": "2026-08-12",
  "data": {
    "aliases": [
      "small cell",
      "5G node",
      "street pole antenna"
    ],
    "category": "radiofrequency",
    "environment": [
      "outdoor"
    ],
    "bands": [
      {
        "label": "Mid band (1.7–2.6 GHz)",
        "minHz": 1700000000,
        "maxHz": 2600000000
      },
      {
        "label": "C-band (3.3–4.2 GHz)",
        "minHz": 3300000000,
        "maxHz": 4200000000
      },
      {
        "label": "mmWave (24–39 GHz)",
        "minHz": 24000000000,
        "maxHz": 39000000000
      }
    ],
    "transmitPower": {
      "quantity": "power",
      "unit": "W EIRP",
      "value": 10,
      "basis": "regulatory",
      "note": "Small cells span roughly 1–50 W EIRP depending on class and band; mmWave nodes use high EIRP with very narrow beams and poor wall penetration.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "fcc-oet65"
      ]
    },
    "dutyCycle": "Similar to macro sites: continuous control channels, load-dependent traffic, beamformed peaks.",
    "distanceProfile": [
      {
        "meters": 5,
        "value": {
          "quantity": "power-density",
          "unit": "µW/m²",
          "value": 31800,
          "basis": "computed",
          "method": "S = EIRP / (4πd²) with EIRP = 10 W, d = 5 m",
          "note": "Main-beam free-space value.",
          "sourceIds": [
            "fcc-oet65"
          ]
        }
      },
      {
        "meters": 10,
        "value": {
          "quantity": "power-density",
          "unit": "µW/m²",
          "value": 7960,
          "basis": "computed",
          "method": "S = EIRP / (4πd²) with EIRP = 10 W, d = 10 m",
          "note": "Main-beam free-space value.",
          "sourceIds": [
            "fcc-oet65"
          ]
        }
      },
      {
        "meters": 30,
        "value": {
          "quantity": "power-density",
          "unit": "µW/m²",
          "value": 884,
          "basis": "computed",
          "method": "S = EIRP / (4πd²) with EIRP = 10 W, d = 30 m",
          "note": "Main-beam free-space value.",
          "sourceIds": [
            "fcc-oet65"
          ]
        }
      },
      {
        "meters": 100,
        "value": {
          "quantity": "power-density",
          "unit": "µW/m²",
          "value": 79.6,
          "basis": "computed",
          "method": "S = EIRP / (4πd²) with EIRP = 10 W, d = 100 m",
          "note": "Main-beam free-space value.",
          "sourceIds": [
            "fcc-oet65"
          ]
        }
      }
    ],
    "mitigations": [
      {
        "action": "Determine which rooms have line of sight to the node; mmWave and C-band are strongly attenuated by walls and glass coatings.",
        "effect": "Line of sight is the single biggest factor in indoor levels from street-level nodes."
      },
      {
        "action": "Apply RF window film or shielding paint to the facing wall and window, then re-measure.",
        "effect": "Typical installed shielding of 20–30 dB reduces incident power density by 99–99.9%."
      }
    ],
    "measureWith": [
      "broadband-rf-meter",
      "spectrum-analyser"
    ],
    "related": [
      "emitters:macro-cell-tower",
      "limits:ch-onir-installation-mobile"
    ]
  },
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "fcc-oet65",
      "title": "OET Bulletin 65: Evaluating Compliance with FCC Guidelines for Human Exposure to Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Fields",
      "publisher": "Federal Communications Commission, Office of Engineering and Technology",
      "url": "https://www.fcc.gov/general/oet-bulletins-line",
      "year": 1997,
      "kind": "government",
      "retrieved": "2026-08-12"
    },
    {
      "id": "itu-fs-relations",
      "title": "Free-space path loss and power density relations (ITU-R P.525)",
      "publisher": "International Telecommunication Union",
      "url": "https://www.itu.int/rec/R-REC-P.525/en",
      "kind": "standard",
      "retrieved": "2026-08-12"
    }
  ],
  "links": {
    "self": "https://emfbase.com/api/emitters/5g-small-cell",
    "html": "https://emfbase.com/emitters/5g-small-cell",
    "markdown": "https://emfbase.com/emitters/5g-small-cell.md",
    "collection": "https://emfbase.com/api/emitters"
  }
}