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New mobile app offers guide to electromagnetic fields
App launched to provide clarity on public health concerns
Geneva, 18 December 2014 – A new ITU mobile application
provides a guide to electromagnetic fields (EMF) which have raised public health
concerns as a country’s mobile network infrastructure expands. ITU standards are
designed to ensure the responsible consideration of human exposure to EMF.
The mobile app, ‘EMF
Guide’, was launched at an
‘ITU Forum on Human Exposure to Electromagnetic Fields’ in
Kochi, India, on 15 December 2014, organized in collaboration with the
Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications and Information
Technology, Government of India.
The new app,
especially developed by experts working in
ITU-T
Study Group 5 for smart phones, tablets and desktops, offers an
introduction to EMF and their relationship with health, as well as the various
internationally agreed guidelines and standards designed to ensure safety in the
use of mobile phones and other wireless technologies. A version will be
available on app stores in 2015.
“The application of technical best practices and standards to safeguard
public health must be matched by communication with the public to increase the
transparency of regulators and operators’ actions in this domain,” said ITU
Secretary-General Hamadoun I. Touré in a message. “The launch of this new mobile
app will be effective in increasing public understanding of EMF, and help
address citizens’ concerns.”
“ITU’s efforts to raise the profile of its work in the EMF field have been
welcome in India,” said Mr Ram Narain, Deputy Director General (International
Relations), Department of Telecommunications. “India’s ICT industry is one of
the fastest-growing in the world, and it is crucial that we continue to
encourage ICT industry growth while we take effective steps to address health
concerns and provide an assurance to the public that their health is protected.”
This was echoed by several speakers during the conference.
ITU-T Study Group 5 studies EMF issues and the resulting standards (ITU-T
Recommendations) give operators, manufacturers and government agencies the tools
required to assess the EMF levels attributable to telecommunication and
radiocommunication systems and to verify compliance with World Health
Organization (WHO) recommended human-exposure guidelines, or more stringent
national requirements where they exist.
The launch of the new mobile app, and ITU forums, such as the one held in
Kochi, respond to Resolution 176 of the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference and
Resolution 72 of the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly, which
call on ITU’s Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) to expand its
work on EMF in such a way as to raise awareness of the mechanisms available for
the responsible management of human exposure to EMF.
The Kochi meeting also approved a
technical report on EMF
considerations in smart sustainable cities that aims to promote good policy and
practice in the deployment of ICT. The technical report will support initiatives
such as the Indian government objective of building 100 smart cities across the
country.
For more information, please visit the
ITU-T EMF
portal or contact:
Sanjay Acharya
Chief, Media Relations and Public Information
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