Mobile fears
17 April 1999 by John Simpson
Magazine issue 2182
Further to your article last week on mobile phone health effects and shielding devices, I would like to take this opportunity to comment specifically on the shielding devices test protocol used, and also more generally.
Readers may be unaware that the National Physical Laboratory tests used what it describes as "real life" conditions. This means the phone's power levels would be constantly fluctuating to compensate for the ever-changing reception conditions. Mobile users will recall that the signal strength indicator on their phone display screens can move up and down in a matter of seconds. This is caused by a number of uncontrollable variables, including the signal strength from the nearest base station. When tests are carried out in these conditions, a degree of inconsistency in results may be obtained.
It is for this reason that all mobile phone type-approval testing is carried out in front of one of only two ...