Recent research has shown that bursts of energy from the sun at radio frequencies can disrupt mobile phone communications, causing conversation either to be covered with noise or calls to be dropped.

Call-blocking bursts can happen as often as once every 3.5 days during solar maximum. This decreases to once in 18.5 days during solar minimum. Consequently, when solar activity is at its maximum, an average base station could be temporarily knocked out several times per year.

The effect of these bursts on communications depends on the orientation of the mobile phone antenna. Antennae are aimed horizontally, to pick up signals from phones in the area. These signals can be faint because modern mobile phones aim to minimise radio emissions, both to extend battery life and to avoid exposing users to stronger microwaves that necessary. For most of the day the Sun will be out of the antennae's field of view, but for about half an hour at dawn and dusk the antennae will be ideally oriented to detect solar radio emission.

These solar bursts may limit European plans to reduce the power output from mobile phones. Even a small reduction in power could make the systems far more vulnerable to the effect.

For more information see the related AGU news release

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