Performance and EMF Exposure Trade-offs in Human-centric Cell-free Networks

TL;DR

This paper investigates the balance between network performance and electromagnetic field exposure in human-centric cell-free networks, demonstrating that EMF exposure can be reduced with minimal performance loss using surrogate models.

Contribution

It introduces a framework for analyzing performance and EMF exposure trade-offs and highlights the effectiveness of surrogate models for network behavior prediction.

Findings

EMF exposure can be significantly reduced with minor performance impact

Surrogate models effectively predict network behavior in this context

Trade-offs are manageable in typical indoor scenarios

Abstract

In cell-free wireless networks, multiple connectivity options and technologies are available to serve each user. Traditionally, such options are ranked and selected solely based on the network performance they yield; however, additional information such as electromagnetic field (EMF) exposure could be considered. In this work, we explore the trade-offs between network performance and EMF exposure in a typical indoor scenario, finding that it is possible to significantly reduce the latter with a minor impact on the former. We further find that surrogate models represent an efficient and effective tool to model the network behavior.