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ShareEMF related country-specific information for Malta
Cooperation of the National Regulatory Authority (NRA) + Operator + Superintendent for Public Health
Electromagnetic Field (EMF) Exposure Measurements available on request to anyone
EMF measures available on the MCA’s website
| NRA | MCA, MT |
|---|---|
| NRA responsible for setting exposure limits on EMF | No. The Superintendant for Public Health is responsible for setting the limits. |
| NRA responsible for monitoring EMF | Yes |
| EMF material published by NRA |
EMF measurements (in situ measurements and nationwide drive tests). Guidelines for the installation of radio base stations: |
| NRA publishes EMF measurements | Yes |
| Cooperation between NRA and other competent authorities responsible for EMF | Yes |
| Other noteworthy country specific practices | The MCA will be shortly making available the EMF drive-test measurements as open-source data. The data will be of assistance to anyone carrying out research on the subject matter. |
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ICNIRP exposure level used Y/N ? |
In Malta, the Occupational Health and Safety Authority is responsible for radiation for occupational purposes. In turn, service providers (licensed and unlicensed) are responsible for the radiation levels when it comes to the general public. The onus to ensure that the radiation emitted from the equipment is within specific threshold limits ultimately lies on them. The MCA’s role is to monitor and measure the EMF levels of the licensed service providers. The EMF level thresholds are defined by the Superintendent of Health and are often in line with international standards. Cooperation between the MCA, the Superintendent of Public Health, and service providers is very important.
Besides assigning the spectrum, the MCA carries out EMF monitoring and measurements. These last two are carried out both on a per-request basis as well as part of scheduled monitoring. The results of the measurements are published, at a very high level, on the MCA’s website. The MCA’s intention is to, in the near future, have a specific website for EMF whereby the general public may log in and view the EMF levels at different locations.
In order to give the general public better peace of mind with regard to radio-communication equipment installations, the MCA has recently published a set of guidelines, targeting licensees, on the subject matter. The general public will therefore be further guaranteed that an installation is up to standard and within the safety limits. The MCA discussed, in-depth, the guidelines with the licensees, in the process of drafting it. This collaboration ensured a fair set of guidelines for the licensees and the safety of the general public:
In the absence of a standard for 5G and EMF measurements, the MCA has undergone a nationwide exercise whereby real-time broadband measurements were taken prior to the introduction of 5G. This exercise will be repeated, again on a nationwide scale, following the introduction of 5G. The EMF levels will be compared so as to identify any changes due to 5G. The ultimate aim of such an exercise is to mitigate public concerns related to 5G and EMF levels.
Educating the people about the topic of EMF and 5G is considered by Malta to be crucial for the process of 5G network deployment. Most members of the general public may not understand the concept of EMF, which therefore makes them “vulnerable” to misinformation on the topic matter. Such educational campaigns target all the members of the public aiming to somewhat reduce the element of “unknown” on the subject of EMF.
Another measure that may be useful in order to increase the acceptance of the 5G network deployments is the rollout of fixed/mobile EMF monitoring stations throughout areas of interest. The measurement results may then be made available to the general public preferably also in real time. Also, historic information may be made available as open data for analysis.