{
  "id": "glossary:beamforming",
  "collection": "glossary",
  "slug": "beamforming",
  "name": "Beamforming",
  "summary": "5G massive-MIMO antennas steer energy toward active users rather than radiating uniformly, so exposure is intermittent and direction-dependent.",
  "status": "verified",
  "lastVerified": "2026-08-12",
  "data": {
    "definition": "Beamforming uses an antenna array to concentrate transmission toward a specific receiver. The consequence for exposure assessment is that the maximum EIRP occurs only in a narrow beam pointed at an active device, so a fixed-point measurement varies with network activity, and time-averaged assessment methods specific to massive MIMO are required rather than static worst-case arithmetic.",
    "category": "technology",
    "seeAlso": [
      "emitters:5g-small-cell",
      "emitters:macro-cell-tower"
    ]
  },
  "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": "arpansa-base-stations",
      "title": "Mobile phone base stations and health",
      "publisher": "Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency",
      "url": "https://www.arpansa.gov.au/understanding-radiation/radiation-sources/more-radiation-sources/mobile-phone-base-stations",
      "kind": "government",
      "retrieved": "2026-08-12"
    }
  ],
  "links": {
    "self": "https://emfbase.com/api/glossary/beamforming",
    "html": "https://emfbase.com/glossary/beamforming",
    "markdown": "https://emfbase.com/glossary/beamforming.md",
    "collection": "https://emfbase.com/api/glossary"
  }
}