EMF-Aware User Association Optimization in 5G Networks

Exposure to Electromagnetic Fields (EMF) is one of the main concerns on current mobile wireless deployments, due to the use of active antenna systems and the increase of users connected simultaneously to these systems. In this paper, we evaluate the achievable rate resulting from simultaneous connections from multiple users, along with the signal-to-noise ratio (i.e., SNR), considering existing regulatory constraints on EMF, which is the subject of limitations in several countries. Our approach considers a random deployment of several base stations, according to a Poisson point process, and focuses on exploring the convexity of the achievable rate, as it will increase together with the number of antennas, and decrease with the overhead when a higher number of antennas is used. This article also studies the effects of the placement of new base stations on the overall EMF exposure, ensuring compliance with the current EMF limitations. Results show that due to the narrowness of the beam, the blockage can considerably affect the SNR received. Although several configurations are available from an operator perspective, some flexibility is allowed and the EMF exposure does not affect the average performance dramatically.