Macro cell tower (LTE / 5G sector antenna)
Sector antennas radiate on the order of 1000 W EIRP per sector on the main beam, which is aimed above and away from the tower base — ground-level exposure directly beneath a tower is usually lower than at a few hundred metres away.
radiofrequencyoutdoor
Last verified 12 August 2026.
Also searched as: base station, mobile phone mast, cell site, 5G tower
- Category
- radiofrequency
- Emission bands
- Low band (600–900 MHz); Mid band (1.7–2.6 GHz); C-band 5G (3.3–4.2 GHz)
- Environments
- outdoor
- Transmit power
- 1,000 W EIRPRegulatory value — legally enforceable — Order-of-magnitude figure for a macro sector. Actual EIRP depends on transmitter power, antenna gain and, for 5G massive-MIMO panels, on beamforming that concentrates power toward active users.sources: fcc-oet65, arpansa-base-stations
- Duty cycle
- Control channels transmit continuously; traffic channels vary with load. 5G beamforming means the maximum only occurs when a beam is pointed at you.
Field strength by distance
- 50 m
- 31,800 µW/m²Computed estimate — S = EIRP / (4πd²) with EIRP = 1000 W, d = 50 m — Main-beam free-space value. At the tower base you are usually far below the main beam, where levels are typically 10–100× lower.sources: fcc-oet65
- 100 m
- 7,960 µW/m²Computed estimate — S = EIRP / (4πd²) with EIRP = 1000 W, d = 100 m — Main-beam free-space value.sources: fcc-oet65
- 300 m
- 884 µW/m²Computed estimate — S = EIRP / (4πd²) with EIRP = 1000 W, d = 300 m — Main-beam free-space value.sources: fcc-oet65
- 1000 m
- 79.6 µW/m²Computed estimate — S = EIRP / (4πd²) with EIRP = 1000 W, d = 1000 m — Main-beam free-space value.sources: fcc-oet65
Mitigations, most effective first
- Establish the actual antenna height, azimuth and downtilt before assuming exposure; look the site up in the FCC ASR database.
- Determines whether a dwelling is in the main beam at all, which changes the estimate by one to two orders of magnitude.
- Measure indoors with a directional antenna to identify the dominant azimuth, then use window film or shielding paint on that facade only.
- Targets the one surface that matters instead of shielding a whole room.
- Compare readings against both the regulatory limit and the Swiss installation limit value to understand where you sit.
- Typical measured residential levels near base stations are hundreds of times below regulatory limits.
Measure with
- Broadband RF power-density meter
- RF spectrum analyser
- Directional antenna (log-periodic or horn)
Related records
- Swiss installation limit value for mobile phone antennas
4–6 V/m at places of sensitive use depending on band — about 100 times lower in power density than ICNIRP's reference level.
Exposure limits
- FCC general population MPE, 300–1500 MHz
Frequency-dependent limit of f/1500 mW/cm², so the allowance rises with frequency across the low-band and mid-band cellular spectrum.
Exposure limits
Sources
- fcc-oet65 OET Bulletin 65: Evaluating Compliance with FCC Guidelines for Human Exposure to Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Fields — Federal Communications Commission, Office of Engineering and Technology, 1997. government, link checked 2026-08-12.
- arpansa-base-stations Mobile phone base stations and health — Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency. government, link checked 2026-08-12.
- fcc-asr Antenna Structure Registration (ASR) public access database downloads — Federal Communications Commission. government, link checked 2026-08-12.
- itu-fs-relations Free-space path loss and power density relations (ITU-R P.525) — International Telecommunication Union. standard, link checked 2026-08-12.
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