5G cellular network conspiracy you should not believe
If you have been receiving updates on the latest trends in the circles of technology, you must have seen or read numerous articles featuring the controversy around the 5G network technology. 5G is the latest in the series of earlier upgrades i.e., 1G, 2G, 3 G and 4G, and you would expect every mobile user to be happy as they look forward to adopting the new development.
However, the situation on the ground is different. While some users are already connected to the Network, skeptics are milling rumors and advancing theories to the contrary. They agitate to persuade the relevant authorities to declare 5G unsafe and do away with it altogether.
Read on to know everything regarding the raging 5 G networks wars and what you can expect in the short or long term.
Table of Contents
What is 5G wireless technology?
In simpler terms, 5G is the short version for the 5th or fifth generation. This is the 5th generation in the development of wireless communications that support cellular data networks. Like all earlier upgrades, this technology leverages communication devices, especially those mobile phones that are custom made to support the function.
The 5G frequency spectrum is categorized as follows;
(a) Millimeter waves
(b) Mid-band waves
(c) Low band waves
Of the above three, Millimeter waves are the fastest, operating at 1-2 Gbits/s down. Its frequencies range from 24 GHz to 72 GHz, but it requires more cells owing to its short reach. Additionally, the Millimeter waves’ indoor coverage is limited because they traverse windows and walls with relative difficulty.
Although it falls under the Millimeter-wave, the mid-band is deployed widely in over thirty networks. The 100 MHz wide band speeds range between 100 to 400 Mbit per second. In the lab and sometimes in the field, these speeds can spill over one gigabit per second.
If you look into the radio spectrum it is broken up into bands, each with unique features as you move up into higher frequencies. 4G networks use frequencies below 6 GHz, but 5G can use extremely high frequencies in the 30 GHz to 300 GHz range. But the current accepted 5G airwave is between 3.4 GHz to 3.8GHz
5G is rolling out fast, and soon most parts of the world will be covered. In the UK, for example, 5G speeds are almost ten times above the average 4G speeds. So far, phone makers, including Huawei, OnePlus, and Samsung, have already manufactured 5G phones.
Ten 5G conspiracy you should not believe
5G Network has a connection with spread of Covid-19.
In the last few weeks, romours linking 5G technology to the coronavirus have spread like bushfire all around the world, causing panic in the covered regions. In the UK, for example, over 20 masts were burned down over the 2020 Easter weekend, and to confirm it, videos of the arson attacks, complete with claims, were widely circulated on social media.
With no proof to just justify their narrative, those advancing the theory base their argument on the ambiguous fact that 5G in mobile phone networks rely on signals carried by radio waves and may, in a way, have a role to play in the coronavirus outbreak.
But how is that? You may ask.
Well, one camp alleges that the 5G is powerful enough to compromise the immune system. This makes people vulnerable or susceptible to coronavirus infection. The second camp is quite vague and simply bases their argument on irrational fears that, somehow, 5G technology aids the virus transmission.
According to Earhart Business Protection Agency chief executive Hanna Linderstal, the first video to link COVID 19 to 5G came online in January 2020 in the form of a lecture discussing the influence that electromagnetic radiation has on pandemics.
“It was damn scary watching that video,” she said, adding that at some point, she even contemplated moving to the countryside.
Scientists have since rubbished the above 5G dangers saying they are biologically impossible. In further condemnation, the NHS England Medical Director Stephen Powis termed the theories as “terrible fake news.”
Reached for comment, University of Reading professor, Dr. Simon Clarke said,
“The notion that 5G compromises the immune system does not even merit scrutiny”.
He says one’s immune system can be affected by many things, including stress or a poor diet, and such fluctuations can expose one to catching viral diseases.
He goes on to say that while strong radio waves are harmful, 5G is not strong enough to cause the dreaded effects.
“Exposure to strong radio waves can for sure heat you up and disable your immune system, but several studies have confirmed that 5G radio waves are too tiny to rattle the immune system,” Dr. Clark added.
The radio waves that characterize 5G and other mobile phone technologies are based on the low-frequency end of the electromagnetic spectrum. They are not even as powerful as visible light, so there is no way they can damage the cells. They are unlike medical x-rays and the sun’s rays, which sit the higher frequency end of the spectrum.
Professor Adam Finn of the University of Bristol also downplayed the theories saying that it is practically impossible for 5G to transfer infections because the coronavirus pandemic is caused by a virus that is mainly passed from one person to another.
“Electromagnetic waves and virus are as different as chalk and cheese,” he said
In early 2020, the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection concluded its study and refuted these claims because they found no evidence that mobile networks can cause or spread illnesses.
Unfortunately, even after all the key governing authorities, including The World Health Organization coming forward to put the record straight, misinformation fuelled by these rumours has only escalated
Security breaches.
Researchers from the University of Dundee and the University of Zurich on 0ctober 18th 2018 read out a paper “A Formal Analysis of 5G Authentication
The report warned that 5G technology might usher us into an era of numerous security threats. The research document analyzed 5G as a porous and insufficiently tested system that allows the movement of massive data, which is something that opens channels of attack. What’s more, several network security companies, including Voxility, Arbor Networks, and Fortinet, foresaw significant DDoS attacks after 5G deployment and advised on the necessary security measures to put in place.
It is estimated that by 2025, the number of IoT devices connected by 5G technology would have risen to 21.5 billion. This is a significant rise from 7 billion in 2018, and analysts believe that this could be an open ground or surface for cryptojacking, DDoS attacks, and many other forms of cyberattacks.
This partly informs the genesis of the all blown out 5g war between us and china. About two years ago, the US started an open war against China’s technology looking to block her (China’s) giant telecoms from all 5G infrastructure globally.
The animosity triggered concerns that global digital networks would be split into socialist and capitalist blocs. Ever since, the Trump administration has been mulling over the need to slap a ban on US software and hardware to Huawei, aiming to cripple the Chinese company’s sales
5G network causes cancer
Some experts have also accused the Russian state media of pushing such narratives. Most recently, Russian TV published a YouTube video which suggested that kids playing around 5G cell towers could suffer
(1) Learning disabilities
(2) Nose bleed
(3) Develop cancer
This is still disputable since no concrete proof has been presented to justify the propaganda. An article featured in the New York Times in 2019 revealed that The Russian TV had aired programmes associating 5G with health conditions like infertility, autism, brain cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and heart tumors. The article says that by mid-April 2019, the station had run seven programs on the controversial subject and published related articles on numerous blogs.
5G network has an environmental impact
Certain quarters have raised concerns regarding the potential negative impact that 5G transmitters may have on environmentally sensitive areas. Early this year, for example, several anti 5G videos went viral, displaying dead fish and birds and people fainting along the streets.
But, is it true that 5g kills birds? Well, the footage attributed all these to the 5G Network, and in just a few weeks, some of the most popular videos had been viewed by over 12.7 million people.
Following the growing similar concerns, a US court had in August 2019 ruled that 5G technologies would not be deployed until the issue around historic preservation and environmental impact had been reviewed and resolved.
Without 5G, there is no Internet of Things?
The internet of things, better known as IoT, is an area where 5G technologies are expected to have a massive impact, explaining why most device manufacturers and network carriers are focused on 5G as their next giant leap in their IoT adoption.
Does it, therefore, mean that companies should wait for the 5G rollout before introducing their products; say a leak detector, a dog monitor, or parking meter? Well, that shouldn’t be the case because most of the current mobile networks can still serve the purpose. Remember, low power Internet of Things networks can operate on 2G, which is all over the world.
So, yes, 5G is going to have a huge impact, but the world should not stop and wait for its rollout.
It is not as revolutionary as you may think
Clearly, 5G technologies have been hyped much to the chagrin of those who see it as the axis of evil. Some people think 5G is just another single step in the mobile network development that should not be over celebrated.
For example, of the 1800 corporate executives who participated in the 2019 Accenture survey, 53% of them believe that 5G will work very little beyond what they can do the 4G networks. Well, while there are many things that you can accomplish with the 2,3 and 4G, there are profoundly revolutionary 5G applications that you cannot ignore.
For example
(a) 5G has already made possible actual remote surgery. Obviously, this will have a revolutionary impact on the health care industry.
(b) With the touted crazy speeds, 5G will finally relegate cable TV to the margins and turn streaming services into a new convenient home standard.
(c) The 5G Rural First project in 2017 was the first successful human endeavor to harvest a crop without the human factor. This is just one example of the impact that 5G automation will bring about in many other sectors.
Therefore 5 G is a big deal indeed.
With 5G driving will be a thing of the past
So far, you must have read several articles predicting the looming rise in self-driving vehicles. This expectation is all premised on the vast 5G overage, which is touted as the key to self-driving cars becoming a reality. Since 5G is about the roll out globally, does this mean that autonomous vehicles will soon be everywhere on our streets?
Well, not entirely because it takes much more than network coverage to run an autonomous vehicle. For that reason, leading manufactures like GM, Ford, and even Hyundai are going slow on their ambitious projections.
Also, the 5G ubiquitous coverage notwithstanding, such cars can only drive well where the coverage is more stable or spotty. In May Mobility CEO Edwin Olson’s opinion, Autonomous driving will remain a pipe dream maybe until 2035
“It will take a while to see self-driving cars in any significant numbers. We may see the 6 G networks before this comes to pass” he said
5G is ready for massive rollout
Verizon, in October 2019, launched 5G Home, which took distinction as the first 5G service globally. Shortly afterward, T-Mobile and AT &T launched their 5G Network in several cities around the US. Owing to this, some people are fully persuaded their new technology is almost rolling out on a global scale. Unfortunately, we shall have to wait a little longer because this is what the companies are offering.
1. T-Mobile has only covered six US cities, and these are New York, Los Angeles, Cleveland, Atlanta, Dallas, and Las Vegas
2. Verizon uses the word “network” for home WiFi.
3. AT & T only covers selected neighborhoods in some highly populated cities.
4. Sprint’s 5G is only available in certain parts of select nine cities in the US
The story is the same in several other countries around the world. They have adopted the Network on an equally limited scale.
5G will cook your brains
This health scare has been around since mobile networks hit the market and it should not surprise you that the generation of scaremongers is still active today. As mentioned earlier, other health concerns that have been raised include autism, infertility, and many more. Do you also believe that 5G is coming to microwave your brain?
Well, according to the World Health Organization, radiofrequency electromagnetic fields are much safer than coffee. What’s more, such claims have already been debunked by credible scientific authorities. Also, no one has given evidence that 5G wavelengths pose a risk to human health.
Electromagnetic interference
There are also fears and concerns that 5G networks may adversely affect the weather pattern data collection. Meteorologists have raised alarm that the networks will interfere with the accuracy of weather predictions and hence leave people exposed to potentially calamitous situations like tornadoes and hurricanes. Baseless fears.
Additionally, sectors like commercial aviation may also be affected. However, experts have shot down 5G networks forecasts interference concerns saying that with proper and effective controls, the problem will be minimal and negligible.
Ten benefits of 5G Network.
5G is warming up to take over the world and preside over a new internet era. The mere mention of the word usually evokes the aspect of speed in people’s minds. While this is true, there many other excellent advantages that this new technology has brought along.
High speed in transmissions
Did you know that 5G offers speeds that are four times faster than 4G? Well, that is one of its key selling points, and of course, such speeds come with limitless advantages. These include higher website traffic, faster data transfer, quick downloads, and more. In short, 5G speeds are fast and furious.
It offers low latency
The time that you take to access and event and the response to it is known as latency. Low latency is every user’s goal because it offers a near-instant response. For example, a larger file that would take 20 hours to download on 3G will only take less than 5 seconds to on 5G.
It will render servers obsolete
It will bring about a radical shift in P2P or Peer to Peer communications and possibly take over the role of servers. With 5G, you will transfer data to a friend’s device in seconds. Uploads and downloads will also happen in the blink of an eye.
Self-driving car technology
The advent of 5G autonomous cars will lower the number of people who die through car accidents every year. In the US alone, over 37.000 people die on the road every year. Therefore, this new technology will make deaths by vehicles a thing of the past
It will enable vehicle to vehicle ( V2V) communication
It will be possible for vehicles integrated into the smart traffic management systems to share information i.e., location, destination, and speed. This way, cars can notify drivers about prevailing road conditions and possible hazards early enough.
Commuting will be much safer
5G is a godsend deal, especially to those who drive to work daily. You will appreciate more if you operate from large cities like Los Angeles because the technology promises to reduce traffic congestion significantly. Experts expect traffic congestion in such cities to reduce by about 40%. Also, expect to enjoy the convenience afforded smart parking as 5G technology automates parking once and for all.
Improved gaming experience
The gaming industry is quite lucrative, and it continues to loop in new fans every day. Most gamers are looking forward to the 5G’s low latency, which will eliminate the nasty “lag “once and for all. Ask any gamer, and they will tell you how patiently they have been waiting for this solution.
It provides an amazing cloud gaming technology
With the 5G cloud gaming technology, you can now access and enjoy gameplay irrespective of whether you own an expensive gaming device or a simple tablet. Cloud gaming subscriptions require the monthly payment, and this has just made gaming a lot more accessible. For example, Google made massive strides into cloud gaming by launching subscription-based stadia that requires you to have a specified controller to play.
A boost the medical sector
The medical field is bound to be one of the most significant 5 G beneficiaries because it will pull down all borders and enable doctors to attend to patients from any corner of the world. This will be achieved through telemedicine conferencing.
Telemedicine can enable doctors and nurses to remotely take vital signs and even diagnose most effectively. The promise that 5G brings to the medical field is totally incalculable.
What’s more, patients, especially the elderly and those who are disabled, will save time and money as they receive timely attention from home.
Ever heard of AI diagnostics and robotics? Well, these are just some of the additional benefits that 5G is crediting to the global health care sector. AI diagnostics can, for example, can detect human diseases and give real-time analytics.
Before 5G technology, doctors hesitated to undertake remote surgeries because of the anticipated dangers. Today, though, things are quite different owing to the 5G two milliseconds latency. We expect even complex surgeries to be performed miles away as this technology rolls soon.
It a massive boost to the evolution of IoT
One of the most straightforward definitions of IoT is “ordinary items made smart via technology. For example, trash bins can take a record of everything that you dispose of so that you can automate new orders. These, along with other ideas, including smart door locks, are innovations that are turning the world upside down. This can only be made possible by the 5G revolution.
Other products captured under the IoT dragnet include doorbell cameras, alarm systems, and fitness trackers. Doorbell cameras, for example, are bound to record higher definition videos and transmit in split seconds. The speed by which alarm systems will alert property owners is bound to change the entire outlook of the security industry.
And although 5G may not influence the use of products like fitness trackers to a great extent, the low latency will make data exchange and synching much faster.
Also, 5G will bring out the more sophisticated side of drones. If you think about the critical role that drones are playing in the fight against covid19, it is easy to stretch your imagination and tell how sophisticated the 5G powered gadgets are going to be. Of course, the Network will enhance control, ensuring accuracy and precision.
Perhaps one feature that may be celebrated more by sports fans in its increased bandwidth. When you combine 5G’s network capacity and its crazy speeds, it is so clear that users will now move large amounts of data as compared to the 4G Network.
Stadiums hosting large crowds and such venues have for long struggled to deliver seamless connectivity, but 5G promises to allow one to stream from any part of the stadium a lot more comfortably.
How to protect yourself from 5g technophia suffers.
A lot has been said about the dangers that 5G may pose to humans, and much as scientists have come out in a gun-blazing defense, you may just want to know some of the things that you may do to keep safe just in case the antagonists (note this point) have a point. Remember, as a layperson, it may be quite tricky to know who is telling the truth. So, how do you protect yourself from 5G? What options do you have to help limit EMF exposure?
1. Don’t use 5G gadgets if you think they do not works for you. Alternatively, you could cut down on the time you use them. (Technophobia suffers)
2. The market has some products that reduce or neutralize radiation. Some claim they are over 90% effective. You can consult an expert on the best devices to buy.
3. Have a radiation detector to help determine the amount of radiation in your surrounding
4. Unplug devices on WiFi when idle.
5. Do not have devices 5G in your bedroom if you do not need them.
6. Sometimes walk barefoot to earth yourself to release any electrical charge in the body.
7. Keep your doors and windows closed to hold radiation from the 5G antenna. I don’t this hold any waters.
8. Eat healthily. Exposure to radiation multiplies free radicals in one’s body, thereby causing cell oxidation. Therefore eat a lot of Omega 3, Vitamin D3, and ORAC foods
Frequently Asked Questions in relation to 5G network.
1. Can EMF cause cancer?
Research has not found any means by which EMFs radio (frequency radiation) can cause cancer. Those on the non –ionizing end of the electromagnetic spectrum cant damage the cells or DNA directly.
2. Will 5G replace WiFi?
Not at all! 5G has not come to do away with WIFI and instead, it can standby as a backup solution where WiFi speeds are slow or WiFi unavailable
3. What does 5G do to humans?
Some 5G antagonists are up in arms alleging that the new technology’s radiofrequency radiation can
(a) cause premature aging
(b) damage the DNA and cause cancer
(c) Disrupt cell metabolism
(d) Generate stress hormones that may cause irreversible illnesses
However, there is no scientific proof for these claims.
4. What does 5G stand for?
5G stands for thefifth generation of wireless network technology.
5 How fast is 5G speed?
It works at a fast speed of 10 gigabits per second. Compared to 4G, 5G is a hundred times faster. 4G runs at a theoretical speed of 100 megabits per second.
6 Is 5G dangerous to birds?
This was one of the trending fake news a while ago, but the truth is that 5G does not kill birds.
Hope you will use your brains next time you hear guys rant baseless facts about 5G network.
Like this article? Then you would definitely love our other article about Microwave interference WiFi signal