TechCheck - What is 5G and is it safe?

We have all seen the news articles and the clips fluttering on twitter about how 5G towers are helping the spread of COVID19 and how they may have other health implications. But how much of this is true?

5G is the next level of wireless network technology that allows us to transform and transport data over the air. But what are the real differences between 4G and 5G? Let's take a look!

Radio Frequency and Distance:

The main difference between the two is that they operate on different radio frequencies. As the frequency goes higher, the distance it can travel becomes lower.

5G: You'll notice that companies are putting up 5G towers all over cities. They have to put the 5G towers almost 250m apart due to the amount of power and radiation a single tower can produce.

By spreading the towers across the city, they dramatically reduce the overall power needed and the radiation that is emitted from each individual tower.

4G:If there is nothing blocking the line of sight the 4G frequency can reach up to 30 kilometres!

Coverage in Cities:

5G: Due to the high frequency, 5G signal is greatly hampered by objects including buildings, trees and even poor weather. Optimum use of 5G can only be realised when in direct line of sight of the tower.

4G: 4G signals are far less obstructed by buildings and objects and can usually be accessed in buildings. However, you will notice that as you go into the basement of a building - you'll lose significant network connectivity!

Network Speeds Download:

This is where 5G really outshines and changes how we might be living in the future!

5G: When in direct line of sight of the 5G tower, you can expect up to 2.1 Gbps! That is enough to download a whole season of The Office in 30 seconds!

As 5G tower technology advances, we should be able to see this peak towards 10 Gbps making quick panic downloads on flights happen in seconds! This will mean you can download a season of The Office within minutes!

4G: In comparison, 4G is far slower, reaching speeds of 30-50mbps.

The speeds of the download will drastically change what we are able to do with our devices and the devices we will interact with.

All of this is all well and good... But is 5G safe?

5G and COVID19:

There is absolutely no evidence that 5G has contributed to the spread of COVID19. Call me crazy - but I thought people socialising in fields is a more direct cause for the spread...

It appears false news has become the new 'viral' and with no real way to debunk all the different varieties of fake news on social media, we are left with the challenge to find the truth ourselves. Towers have been burnt down in the UK, Belgium and Netherlands, but still, the cases are on a rise. Apologies if you're reading this and planning your next 5G tower heist...

The rumour is spun by a chart that has been produced that overlays the 5G tower installations with the high concentration areas of COVID19 patients.

There is no scientific evidence for the correlation, as you'd expect high-density areas to be most impacted by the virus. And what about the countries that have less or no 5G towers that are reporting cases.

What about the WHO warnings?

WHO has stated on their website that 'To date, and after much research performed, no adverse health effect has been casually linked with exposure to wireless technologies.' Wireless technologies include Wi-Fi, 5G, 4G, 3G and all other wireless technology.

You can read it all here: https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/5g-mobile-networks-and-health

What should we expect?

Should we worry about the WHO warning about 5G? I highly recommend you read the Q&A for 5G posted by WHO to become acquainted with it.

Many governments have postponed their 5G implementation in order to conduct thorough research into 5G health impacts. As 5G is a newer technology there is no extensive research on the topic. We should expect to see more announcements and published documents in the following years!

Some measures being taken to make 5G safer is by reducing the power output from each singular 5G tower. By reducing the power output of each tower, it reduces the amount of radiation that is produced. The governments have decided to create multiple masts at a distance of 200-400m to spread the network across cities and reduce the overall output of radiation.

As 5G is a non-ionising frequency, it is relatively safe and causes no harm to life. Research into prolonged exposure is underway and we will see if it leads to any substantial results.

The exposure of 5G frequencies and radiation will no longer be a choice. Although there is a firm case to say that 5G will drastically improve our lives and enable technologies and innovation to occur in all industries... The lack of thorough research into potential health concerns from prolonged exposure still remains a critical factor to consider.

So all in all, 5G is not helping spread COVID19, and governments are continuing research and implementation on 5G. Let's see what will happen!