Nokia Oyj, Motorola Inc and other mobile phone manufacturers could be hurt by proposed Chinese rules that would set radiation emission levels for handsets in the world's largest mobile phone market below European standards.
The rules lower the minimum radiation absorption level to one watt per kilogram from the European standard of 1.6 watts per kilogram, according to David Hartley, head of Nokia's China mobile phone division.
While all of Nokia's phones sold in China meet the proposed standard, variations in testing methods may mean the Finnish company would have to modify its research and development methods, Hartley said.
Some medical researchers say cellphone radiation may cause cancer, although there's no conclusive evidence to back that claim.
"We are urging the Chinese authorities to try to follow international standards," Hartley said in an interview.
"We haven't seen any published scientific evidence supporting this new standard."
China is Nokia's second-largest market after the US Last year it sold 3.4 billion euros (US$3.13 billion) in phones and phone equipment there. Motorola, which is battling with Nokia for market share, said last year China is its most profitable wireless market.
Siemens AG and Samsung Electronics Co are the third-and fourth-largest handset suppliers in China. Local manufacturers include Hisense Electric Co and Ningbo Bird Co.
China Mobile (Hong Kong) Ltd and China Unicom Ltd may also be affected if the proposals become law, because they will have to deploy more base stations in order to allow weaker phones to stay connected to the network, Hartley said.
China's Ministry of Information Industry, the industry regulator, is opposed to the new standards, which were proposed by the Ministry of Health and the State Environment Bureau, according to the Financial Post, a local newspaper.
"We have seen some reports and we didn't pay much attention," said Wang Lijian, a spokesman for the Ministry of Information Industry. "There is some speculation."
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