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Network Safety Guidelines

Within the scope of the responsibilities of the Egyptian Ministry of Health, Ministry of Environmental Affairs and Ministry of Telecommunications and Information; and for the sake of the Egyptian community's well-being; the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency [EEAA] in collaboration with the National Telecommunications Institute [NTI] has prepared 3 protocols to govern the construction and operation of macrocells, microcells and infra-red links.

The 3 protocols are based on research studies by specialized academic groups and were approved by three ministries:

  • Communications and Information Technology.
  • Environment Affairs.
  • Health and Population.

Main Objectives of Safety Protocols:

  • Auditing and monitoring the rollout process of mobile stations.
  • Ensuring safe operation of sites.
  • Issuing official certificates of conformity for sites meeting the protocol requirements.

Orange's Environmental Self-monitoring

Orange has a specialized team working under the supervision of the National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA) to measure sites and ensure their compliance to national and international standards. The measurements are made according to yearly plan; non-conformances are corrected immediately whenever required.

  • All international standards and guidelines that preserve general health and environment set by the IEEE, ANSI, ICNIRP and WHO organization were considered.
  • All Orange base stations are designed to operate within national and international exposure guidelines on radio wave emissions. These guidelines include a substantial safety margin to assure the protection of everyone, regardless of age and health.

Latest Mobile Health Researches

Epidemiologic evidence

No increase in cancer cases were proven after several studies looking into the effect of radio waves and microwaves combined.

Scientific Approach

Scientific research works on the principles of peer review and results replication. In order to be credible, the results of all research need to be submitted for peer review, usually through publication in respected journals and then independently replicated.

It is only once results have been replicated that they are considered to be relevant for setting safety standards. If replication proves impossible, the initial results are deemed to be unreliable.

To date, there is no replicated research showing that a health hazard exists from mobile communications signals at levels in compliance with international safety guidelines.

This is reflected in the World Health Organization (WHO) statement of 2004 that states:

  • Based on a recent in-depth review of the scientific literature, the WHO concluded that current evidence does not confirm the existence of any health consequences from exposure to low level electromagnetic fields. However, some gaps in knowledge about biological effects exist and need further research.
  • The balance of evidence to date suggests that exposures to RF radiation below National Radiological Protection Board and ICNIRP guidelines [which Orange follows] do not cause adverse health effects to the general population.
 
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Macrocell

Provides the largest area of coverage within a mobile network. Its antennas can be mounted on ground-based masts, rooftops or other structures and must be high enough to avoid obstruction. Macrocells provide radio coverage over varying distances, depending on the frequency used, the number of calls and the physical terrain. Typically they have a power output in tens of watts.

Microcells

Provide additional coverage and capacity in areas where there are high numbers of users, urban and suburban areas, for example. The antennas for microcells are mounted at street level, are smaller than macrocell antennas and can often be disguised as building features. Microcells provide radio coverage over distances - typically between 300m and 1000m - and have lower output powers than marocells, usually a few watts.

IEEE

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. is a non-profit, technical professional association of more than 365,000 individual members in approximately 150countries. The IEEE is a leading authority in technical areas ranging from computer engineering, biomedical technology and telecommunications, to electric power, aerospace engineering and consumer electronics, among others.

ANSI

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has served in its capacity as administrator and coordinator of the United States private sector voluntary standardization system for more than 80 years. Founded five engineering societies and three government agencies, the Institute remains a private, nonprofit membership organization supported by a diverse constituency of private and public sector organizations.

Throughout its history, ANSI has maintained as its primary goal the enhancement of global competitiveness of U.S. business and the American quality of life by promoting and facilitating voluntary consensus standards and conformity assessment systems and promoting their integrity.

ICNIRP

International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection. It is a body of independent scientific experts consisting of a main Commission of 14 members, 4 Scientific Standing Committees covering Epidemiology, Biology, Dosimetry and Optical Radiation and a number of consulting experts. This expertise is brought to bear on addressing the important issues of possible adverse effects on human health of exposure to non-ionising radiation.

WHO

The World Health Organization is the United Nations specialized agency for health. WHO's objective, is the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health. Health is defined in WHO's Constitution as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.