Cell Phones

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Cell phones are portable radio devices that transmit and receive signals from a network of fixed, low-power, base stations; more commonly known as cell phone towers. With the growing popularity of cell phones (also known as mobile phones), questions have been raised about the safety of being exposed to the radiofrequency (RF) energy they emit.

Over the past decade, the use of wireless telecommunication technology has increased significantly: more than 24 million Canadians now have cell phones. To ensure that the public's RF exposure falls within acceptable guidelines, Industry Canada, the federal regulator responsible for the approval of RF equipment and performing compliance assessments, has adopted the human exposure limits established by Health Canada (outlined in Safety Code 6) as their regulatory standard ( Radio Standard Specification 102).

For more information on how this standard applies to cell phones, please see Health Canada's page on Safety of Cell Phones and Cell Phone Towers.

Learn more about cell phones and cell phone towers by consulting the following resources:

• It's Your Health: Safety of Cell Phones and Cell Phone Towers
  With the growing popularity of cell phones, concerns have been raised about the safety of exposure to RF energy. This document addresses these concerns and outlines the respective responsibilities of Health Canada and Industry Canada for the safety of these devices.
• Health Canada's RF exposure guidelines (Safety Code 6)
  These guidelines describe limits for safe human exposure to RF energy. Industry Canada has adopted these exposure limits and included them in their regulatory documents.
• Research on RF Energy and Health
  A list of Health Canada-funded studies on RF energy and health.
•  Industry Canada's Radio Standards Specification 102
  Radio Standards Specification 102, Radio Frequency Exposure Compliance of Radiocommunication Apparatus (All Frequency Bands) sets out the requirements and measurement techniques used to evaluate RF exposure compliance of radiocommunication apparatus designed to be used within the vicinity of the human body.
•  Electromagnetic Fields and Public Health
  This World Health Organization (WHO) fact sheet reviews scientific evidence on the health effects from continuous low-level human exposure to cell phone towers and other local wireless networks.

To make an inquiry regarding RF exposure guidelines, contact Health Canada's Consumer and Clinical Radiation Protection Bureau.

To make an inquiry regarding cell phones and base station compliance assessments, contact  Industry Canada's Spectrum Engineering Branch.