Analysis of total installation cost versus downlink whole-body SAR in indoor wireless networks

Indoor exposure can be reduced by configuring the wireless network with more base stations with a lower transmit power. However, this causes significantly higher installation costs. In real-life deployments, a compromise could be sought between a low installation cost and a low exposure. This compromise is here numerically assessed and compared for different WiFi data rates, different path loss models, and different building layouts. Generally, whole-body Specific Absorption Rates (SARs) decrease exponentially as the allowed total cost increases. Buildings with line-of-sight conditions and lower throughput requirements allow deployments with a significantly lower installation cost (up to 79%) and exposure (up to 95%).