# 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.

- Canonical URL: https://emfbase.com/emitters/dect-cordless-phone
- Collection: Sources & emitters
- Record id: `emitters:dect-cordless-phone`
- Status: verified
- Last verified: 2026-08-12
- JSON: https://emfbase.com/api/emitters/dect-cordless-phone
- Also known as: cordless phone, DECT base

## Key values

- **Category:** radiofrequency
- **Emission bands:** DECT 1880–1900 MHz (EU); DECT 6.0 1920–1930 MHz (US)
- **Environments:** home, workplace
- **Transmit power:** 0.25 W EIRP — Regulatory 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. [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/m² — Computed estimate — S = EIRP / (4πd²) with EIRP = 0.25 W, d = 0.3 m — Peak during a burst. [fcc-part15]
- **1 m:** 19,900 µW/m² — Computed estimate — S = EIRP / (4πd²) with EIRP = 0.25 W, d = 1 m — Peak during a burst. [fcc-part15]
- **3 m:** 2,210 µW/m² — Computed estimate — S = EIRP / (4πd²) with EIRP = 0.25 W, d = 3 m — Peak during a burst. [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](https://emfbase.com/limits/building-biology-rf-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.

## Sources

- `fcc-part15` U.S. Government Publishing Office (eCFR). *47 CFR Part 15 — Radio Frequency Devices (unlicensed transmitter power limits)*. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/part-15 — regulation, link checked 2026-08-12
- `sbm-2024` Institut für Baubiologie + Nachhaltigkeit (IBN) (2024). *Building Biology Evaluation Guidelines for Sleeping Areas (SBM-2024)*. https://buildingbiology.com/site/downloads/SBM-2024_EVALUATION_GUIDELINES_EN.pdf — ngo, link checked 2026-08-12

Data licence: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Dataset version 2026.08.1. Retrieved from EMFBase, https://emfbase.com.

This record is reference data, not medical or legal advice. Regulatory limits, scientific guidelines and precautionary values are labelled separately and answer different questions.