DECT cordless phone base station
Older DECT bases transmit a pulsed beacon 100 times per second whether or not a call is in progress; at 250 mW peak that is about 20,000 µW/m² at 1 m.
radiofrequencyhomeworkplace
Last verified 12 August 2026.
Also searched as: cordless phone, DECT base
- Category
- radiofrequency
- Emission bands
- DECT 1880–1900 MHz (EU); DECT 6.0 1920–1930 MHz (US)
- Environments
- home, workplace
- Transmit power
- 0.25 W EIRPRegulatory value — legally enforceable — 250 mW peak is the standard DECT burst power. Transmit power is the regulatory or typical maximum; real devices often transmit below it and reduce power when link quality allows.sources: fcc-part15
- Duty cycle
- Legacy bases beacon continuously at 100 Hz pulse rate. Models advertised as 'ECO mode' or 'full eco' reduce or stop beaconing when idle.
Field strength by distance
- 30 cm
- 221,000 µW/m²Computed estimate — S = EIRP / (4πd²) with EIRP = 0.25 W, d = 0.3 m — Peak during a burst.sources: fcc-part15
- 1 m
- 19,900 µW/m²Computed estimate — S = EIRP / (4πd²) with EIRP = 0.25 W, d = 1 m — Peak during a burst.sources: fcc-part15
- 3 m
- 2,210 µW/m²Computed estimate — S = EIRP / (4πd²) with EIRP = 0.25 W, d = 3 m — Peak during a burst.sources: fcc-part15
Mitigations, most effective first
- Replace a legacy DECT base with a corded phone, or with a full-eco model that stops beaconing when idle.
- Removes a continuous pulsed source that is often the strongest indoor RF emitter in a home.
- Never site the base in a bedroom or on a desk.
- Distance is the only mitigation that works against a continuously beaconing base.
Measure with
- Broadband RF power-density meter
Related records
- Building Biology SBM-2024 RF band: extreme anomaly
Above 1000 µW/m² peak from a single RF source in a sleeping area is graded 'extreme anomaly' and triggers a remediation recommendation.
Exposure limits
Sources
- fcc-part15 47 CFR Part 15 — Radio Frequency Devices (unlicensed transmitter power limits) — U.S. Government Publishing Office (eCFR). regulation, link checked 2026-08-12.
- sbm-2024 Building Biology Evaluation Guidelines for Sleeping Areas (SBM-2024) — Institut für Baubiologie + Nachhaltigkeit (IBN), 2024. ngo, link checked 2026-08-12.
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