What is a Safe Distance From a 5G Cell Tower

While safe distance from a 5g cell tower emit various radiation levels, a safe distance to avoid the worst of it is under 50 meters, and radiation levels will be minor beyond roughly 150 meters. An EMF radiation meter, on the other hand, is the ideal way to test for yourself.

Many of us are obliged to be “plugged in” 24 hours a day in today’s world. While having news, contacts, and information at your fingertips is fantastic, it comes with a price. Companies erect more 5G cell towers in response to the ongoing desire to stay connected. This is a significant problem, especially if you are familiar with cell tower radiation. With this in mind, you are likely wondering what a safe distance from a 5g cell tower would be. Today, we’ll delve a little deeper and look at a few distinct scenarios. Also included is advice on what to do if you get too close.

Many visitors to our website have asked what makes 5G cell towers more dangerous than 2G, 3G, or 4G cell towers. They are all aware that they all emit harmful Radio Frequency (RF) Radiation. However, they have heard that 5G is far more dangerous, and they want to know the truth. Is this true, and if so, what aspects of it have been scientifically validated? We’ll go through everything!

Because they expose us to a more extensive range of RF Radiation frequencies, 5G Cell Towers are more harmful than previous cell tower generations. They not only broadcast the higher 5G microwave frequencies (between 24 GHz and 300 GHz), but they also emit several lesser 2G, 3G, and 4G frequencies (between 1 GHz to 6 GHz). The skin, eyes, immune system, and bacterial drug resistance have all been harmed by 5G millimeter waves.

How do cell towers expose you to RF waves?

Base stations for cell phones can be free-standing towers or installed on existing structures like trees, water tanks, or tall buildings. The antennas must be tall enough to cover a large enough area. The height of base stations is generally between 50 and 200 feet.

Cell phones connect with neighboring cell towers primarily by RF waves, a type of energy found between FM radio waves and microwaves in the electromagnetic spectrum. They are non-ionizing radiation like FM radio waves, microwaves, visible light, and heat. Stronger (ionizing) kinds of radiation, such as x-rays, gamma rays, and ultraviolet (UV) rays, are thought to be able to cause cancer because they directly destroy the DNA inside cells.

A signal is delivered from the phone’s antenna to the nearest base station antenna when a person makes a cell phone call. The base station reacts by allocating an available RF channel to this signal. The voice information is transmitted to the base station via RF waves. After that, the voice signals are routed to a switching center, which routes the call to its intended recipient. During the call, voice signals are then sent back and forth.

This illustrates how cell phone towers work to expose you to radio frequency signals. When RF signals are sent back and forth to the base station during calls, the RF waves produced at the base station are sent into the environment, exposing individuals.

Are 5G cell towers more dangerous?

safe distance from a 5g cell tower

Many parts of the United States and other nations are now getting fifth-generation (5G) cellular networks. 5G networks can transmit significantly more data in much less time than previous generations of networks (4G, 3G, etc.).

RF wavelengths less than 6 gigahertz were employed in previous generation networks (GHz). Some wavelengths in this range will be used in 5G networks, although some higher frequency wavelengths will be used at the lower end of the millimeter-wave spectrum (from 30 GHz to 300 GHz). While these RF waves have a higher frequency (energy) than those employed by previous generations, they are still non-ionizing radiation and cannot damage DNA directly.

The higher frequency waves utilized by 5G travel shorter distances and do not pass through obstacles (such as buildings or even tree leaves). As a result, 5G networks would require many smaller base stations (also known as small cells) in some areas, particularly heavily populated areas.

You will likely encounter poor coverage when hiking, necessitating the purchase of 5G portable cell phone signal boosters for hiking. Although small cells typically operate at considerably lower power levels than bigger (macro) base stations, this could result in antennas being closer to people.

People may be exposed to more RF waves overall due to the inclusion of higher wavelengths from 5G networks. At the same time, because higher frequency RF waves have a reduced ability to permeate the body than lower frequency waves, they may have fewer potential health impacts. However, this topic has received little attention thus far.

What is a safe distance from a 5G cell tower?

The most straightforward approach to determining the precise, safe distance from your local cell tower is to go out and test it for yourself. The easiest approach to determine the proper safe distance from a mobile tower is to put it to the test. You’ll need to get an EMF radiation meter, which is relatively inexpensive and easy to come by.

To determine the safe distance from your local cell tower, follow these steps:

  • Find the nearest cell tower to you. This shouldn’t be too difficult, and if you’re worried about it, you’re probably already aware of its location.
  • Begin near the foot of the tower or as close to it as possible. Your readings should theoretically be small at this time, but you must record this as your beginning point.
  • Then, about 150 feet from the base, choose a location. The highest location in your EMF radiation measurements should be here but stroll about until you find it.
  • Move away in a straight line from it now. Keep track of your distance and keep an eye on your readings.
  • You’ll never get to zero, so keep walking until your EMF radiation meter reads less than 1,000 micro-watts per centimeter squared, but ideally less than 100.
  • This is a safe distance from your local cellphone tower; don’t get any closer!

Radiation power usually is highest at 50 meters from the 5G tower and gradually decreases. It grows feeble beyond 150 meters. Post that, to get out to the radiated signals, the cell phone must work more. As a result, call dropouts become more common in shadow zones and greater distances from cell towers.

While all mobile and 5G cell phone towers emit varying radiation levels, a safe distance to avoid the worst of it is under 150 feet, and radiation levels are minor after 500 feet.

What to consider when analyzing the safe distance from a 5G cell tower

1) Make sense of antennas

All 5G mobile antennas are not created equal. A receiving antenna and a transmitting antenna are two different things. The difference in space is the most common way to tell. In space, a receiving antenna is usually round or elliptical. On the other hand, a transmitting antenna is cuboid, squarish, or rectangular in shape.

What is the safe distance between a 5G cell phone tower and you: Understanding the antennas and their roles is crucial. The frequency emitted by all mobile antennas is not the same. One antenna may transmit at 800 MHz, while another may transmit at 2300 MHz or 2.3 GHz. As a general rule, the greater the radiating frequency, the more energy is radiated. As a result, an 800MHz antenna emits less energy than a 2.3GHz antenna in terms of radiation. 

2) Barriers to mobile phone tower radiation

With concrete or even natural barriers, the intensity of RF radiation decreases (stone, rock, dense foliage). As a result, if the tower is not in direct line of sight, the radiation is likely to be modest. Antennas are slanted around the vertical axis in some circumstances for better communication. As a result of the tilt, the plane of radiation changes, concentrating intense RF radiation in the tilted direction.

3) Shadow zones near mobile phone towers

Another crucial factor to consider is how 5G mobile towers operate. They’re usually tall enough to reach over buildings and send out signals in beams or pulses. You get something called a shadow zone because of how the antennae are built.

The shadow zone is essentially the area where you are shielded from the tower’s radio signals and thus receive far less radiation. Around 150 feet, the first “radiation lobe” (the mobile tower’s beam) lands, where EMF radiation is strongest.

How to reduce 5G cell tower radiation exposure?

If you don’t have a choice but to live near a mobile tower, there’s nothing you can do to increase the distance between you and it. You’ll have to look for alternative ways to limit your EMF radiation exposure. They are as follows:

i) Reduce exposure time

This may sound self-evident, but minimizing the length of time you’re even near the mobile tower and placing distance between you would help tremendously. If you work near a mobile tower, for example, try if you can shift to another side of the building within the workplace.

ii) Purchase EMF shielding products

You may acquire various EMF shielding products for your house, including Faraday cages for smart meters and EMF blocking curtains. Installing a few of these in your house should result in noticeable reductions in the levels of EMF radiation you can detect.

iii) Use EMF shielding paint

EMF shielding paint, such as YSHIELD, is a great way to cut down on the quantity of EMF radiation that travels through a wall. It operates by forming an impenetrable, high-attenuation barrier that blocks practically all EMF radiation.

Bottom line

The safe distance from a 5G cell phone tower is not a scientifically determined value. Several factors influence the strength of mobile radiation. As a rule of thumb, everybody within a 50-meter radius could be at risk. And if the tower is more than 150 meters away, this could result in poor coverage and signal drops. Ironically, we are usually more concerned about the mobile phone tower 150 meters away from us and choose to be blissfully ignorant about the little cell tower that we carry with us all day — our cellphones.

Paula Beaton

Paula Beaton