Too Bluetooth or Not

Given the massive market penetration of this device and associated service, what do you know about your phone? Do you know how GSM works? No? How about terms like 3G or Edge networks? No? Ok, something simple, Bluetooth. Ah, at least you’ve heard of that one. Last term: SAR? Nothing? Well this one might be worth learning about: Specific Aborption Rate. SAR is the amount of radiation your body is exposed to from any given device.

Cell phones are largely taken for granted. There are a few who resist the technology either out of some fear of consequences to health or society, or out of a longing to maintain some distance or boundaries. With the exception of these remaining 2 or 3 people the rest of the world’s population, are eating it up. According to the International Telecommunications Union, in 2006 over 90% of the developed world’s population subscribed to a cellphone service. Oh, sure but no one in the developing world has a cell phone though, right? Well the ITU statistics estimate that in 2006 more than 1 in 3 people had a cellphone in the developing world.

Well all these people out there talking on their cellphones, the FCC is looking out for us with a rating that says whether a device can be sold in the US. In order to get FCC approval, a cellphone has to have meet a level deemed safe by the US, a level that corresponds to a SAR of 1.6W/kg. This measure of radiation is a measurement of how much energy from your mobile device is getting into your body. For comparison purposes Europe has the SAR capped at 2.0W/kg and Canada has the SAR capped at 1.6W/kg as in the US.

The level reported on the phone manual or a given website is likely to be the maximum value, with lesser values being possible on phones that offer multiple signal strength levels for battery performance issues, or based on how the phone is used. Even given this allowance, the maximum values for some of todays phones range from (10 lowest) .14-.4 to the 10 highest at 1.5-1.6. My phone, the Samsung Upstage falls in the high range of “safe” at 1.4W/kg.

The goodnews is that, if the FCC is right and 1.6 is a safe level, everyone in the US is safe, right? That assumes that the FCC is right on about what a safe level is. Whether I should or not, I trust that the FCC is making the most educated decision they can, however since cellular phones have not been around terribly long, anything they do is going to be best on projections, analysis of similar themes from previous knowledge bases, and other very scientific methods. The problem seems to be that we just don’t really know right now, and that we are making a very educated guess but it is ultimately a guess, a guideline.

For today’s cellphone users, you can either rest assured that any device sold is below the threshold of radiation that the FCC has deemed safe, or you can take a further step in considering the SAR of the various phones you are considering purchasing and weighing that data along with all the other. Another option is Bluetooth, again a new technology but similar in concept to cellular. You have a radio transmitter in your cellphone and one in the Bluetooth headset. The difference between cellular and Bluetooth is the distance and the associated power levels.

It takes significantly less power to send a radio wave 5 meters than it does 5 kilometers. As a result it shouldn’t be surprising that while the typical rating of the 10 lowest SAR values for cellphones is 0.2W/kg, the typical rating of a Bluetooth headset is closer to 0.002W/kg. That translates to a Bluetooth device having approximately 1/100th the SAR level of a “low” rated cell phone.

So save some money while avoiding the lunatic/cyborg look of the Bluetooth headset and rest assured that the FDA is doing their best to look out for you. Or, conversely, pick up a Bluetooth headset for anywhere from $20-$120 dollars and add a bit of peace of mind to your potentially paranoid arsenal of ways to live a longer happier life. I’m happy to have a Bluetooth headset now, and quite glad to have my wife using one.

Links

How Stuff Works – Cellular Radiation:
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/cell-phone-radiation3.htm

FCC SAR Page:
http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/sar/

Cell Phone Radiation Levels Discusion and Charts:
http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6602_7-5020355-1.html

ITU Statistics:
http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/statistics/maps.html

Bluetooth SAR Information:
http://www.bag.admin.ch/themen/strahlung/00053/00673/03571/index.html?lang=en#sprungmarke3_5