BEIJING—The world’s largest mobile market could become decidedly less attractive for cell-phone manufacturers if new proposed rules on cell-phone radiation emissions come into play.
A proposed change would restrict the maximum specific absorption rate in China to 1 watt per kilogram compared with 1.6 watts per kilogram and higher in other regions of the world, including the United States and Europe. Phone suppliers would have to bear the additional cost to modify handsets to meet the new restrictions.
There is conflicting worldwide scientific evidence as to whether there is a link between cell-phone use and health risks.
The majority of mobile phones purchased in China are manufactured by foreign vendors, including Nokia Corp., Motorola Inc., Siemens AG and Samsung Electronics Co. Local vendors include Eastcom Communications and China Putian.
China’s mobile operators, China Mobile and China Unicom, also could face additional costs because they would have to deploy more base stations if the tighter restrictions are imposed.
Government researchers have proposed the standards, but there is no clear timeline for when the new regulations might go into effect.
