WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission is close to awarding a contract for a turnkey measurement system that tests mobile-phone compliance with radio-frequency radiation exposure guidelines, according to government sources.
The test equipment will help the FCC ensure mobile phones meet specific absorption rate (SAR) levels set in the agency’s 1996 RF standard. SAR testing measures how much electromagnetic energy is captured by human tissue in the head.
Competition for the FCC contract, which holds immense value in terms of dollars and prestige for the winner, comes at a time of controversy within the industry and scientific community over the development of an SAR standard and over methods for measuring SAR for FCC compliance.
Om P. Gandhi, an RF scientist at the University of Utah, asserts mobile phones that possibly exceed SAR limits may be getting approved by the FCC as a result of improper testing by wireless firms and labs.
The FCC solicited a request for proposals for SAR test equipment in June.
