The German Mobile Telecommunication Research Programme (DMF) was initiated by the Federal Ministry for the Environment (BMU) and the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS). The Programme had a total budget of 17 million euros, which was equally shared by the Federal Ministry for the Environment and the telecommunication network operators.

In spite of their contribution to the programme's funds, the German network operators were not entitled to decide on the selection of the research projects to be conducted nor to participate in the evaluation of the research results. The German Mobile Telecommunication Research Programme was exclusively coordinated and implemented by BfS.

54 research projects on the topic of "Mobile Telecommunication"

The Programme started in 2002 and was accomplished in 2008. It comprised 54 research projects on the topic of “Mobile Telecommunication” including the fields of “Biology”, “Dosimetry”, “Epidemiology”, and “Risk Communication”. The researchers deliberately investigated a broad frequency range which in some cases exceeded the currently used GSM and UMTS frequency ranges.

The objective was to investigate scientifically demonstrable fundamental biological effects and mechanisms and to assess their relevance for people’s health taking account of international research results. The Programme also aimed at finding potential causes of electrosensitivity. It was intended to obtain results which are of importance to the entire field of telecommunications and which should make it possible to draw conclusions about health risks of future technological developments. This was accomplished by expert workshops in which the researchers discussed and evaluated their results with renowned scientists at international level. BfS and the German Commission on Radiological Protection (SSK) presented their assessments of the results obtained from the German Mobile Telecommunication Research Programme to the general public in June 2008.

More information

• German Mobile Telecommunication Research Programme (DMF)
• "Zum Schutz der Menschen: Deutsches Mobilfunk Forschungsprogramm" (Flyer, PDF, 4,7 MB, in German, not barrier-free)
• "Das Deutsche Mobilfunk Forschungsprogramm - Ein wichtiger Beitrag zur transparenten Wissenschaft und zu offenen Fragen des Strahlenschutzes" (Brochure, PDF, 0,5 MB, in German, not barrier-free)
• Results of the German Mobile Telecommunication Research Programme (DMF) (Final report, PDF, 1,2 MB, in German, not barrier-free)
  You can download the final report at the Federal Office for Radiation Protection's (BfS) online repository ("DORIS"). Please always refer to urn: nbn:de:0221-201108036032 as source when quoting from the report.