Impact of the Hybrid (DVB-H/UMTS) Network Structure on the Electromagnetic Exposure

A hybrid mobile communication network as considered in this paper consists of a point-to-point network (UMTS) and a point-to-multipoint network (DVB-H). The benefit of combining these two networks is an optimised transfer of data by collecting several user requests for a single response via the broadcast network. Thus, capacity can be saved, UMTS cells can be unloaded and the mean response time of the system can be reduced. Besides these advantages, hybrid networks can be applied to decrease electromagnetic exposure, especially at hot spot areas. In this paper, it is analysed how the hybrid network structure influences the electromagnetic exposure. Therefore, different scenarios have been developed consisting of different user behaviour and different network structures. In order to evaluate the grade of exposure, criteria have been defined. These criteria have been used for comparing a hybrid network with a single UMTS network in terms of electromagnetic exposure. The results are shown for the different network structures and network configurations.