Safety

 

The FDA shares regulatory

 

responsibilities for wireless

 

phones with the Federal

 

Communications Commission

 

(FCC). All phones that are sold

 

in the United States must comply

 

with FCC safety guidelines that

 

limit RF exposure. The FCC relies

 

on the FDA and other health

 

agencies for safety questions

 

about wireless phones.

 

The FCC also regulates the base

 

stations that the wireless phone

 

networks rely upon. While these

S a f

base stations operate at higher

power than do the wireless

e ty

phones themselves, the RF

 

exposures that people get from

 

 

these base stations are typically

 

thousands of times lower than

 

those they can get from wireless

 

phones. Base stations are thus

 

not the subject of the safety

 

questions discussed in this

 

document.

3.What kinds of phones are the subject of this update?

The term “wireless phone” refers here to handheld wireless phones with built-in antennas, often called “cell”, “mobile”, or “PCS” phones. These types of wireless phones can expose the user to measurable Radio Frequency (RF) energy because of the short distance between the phone and the user’s head.

These RF exposures are limited by FCC safety guidelines that were developed with the advice of the FDA and other federal health and safety agencies. When the phone is located at greater distances from the user, the exposure to RF is drastically lower because a person's RF exposure decreases rapidly with increasing distance from the source. The so-called “cordless phones,” which have a base unit

96

Page 98
Image 98
LG Electronics AX565 FDA shares regulatory, Responsibilities for wireless, Phones with the Federal, About wireless phones