There is a need for the government to sponsor comprehensive research on the impact of the 5th Generation of Wireless Cellular Communication (5G Network) on human beings and the environment.
This research should be carried out by Wireless Communication Engineers, Biologists and Physicists.
Deployment of 5G cellular-network technology began globally in early 2019 and almost immediately, anti-5G groups began to raise unsubstantiated claims that the technology caused cancer or mental illness, that it killed trees and wildlife, and so on.
With the declaration of COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, numerous unfounded conspiracy theories attempted to link the virus with 5G technology, with many arguing that 5G radiation weakened the immune system and left people vulnerable to the illness.
Some claimed the virus was actually transmitted by 5G signals and that 5G technology and an eventual coronavirus vaccine were part of a massive mind-control plot among other insinuations.
But in an exclusive interview with TNC, a Professor of Wireless Communication Engineering and Signal Processing at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Professor Austen Azubogu has debunked the rumours that coronavirus was caused by the 5G network.
According to him, viruses cannot travel on radio waves/mobile networks whereas COVID-19 has been spreading in many countries that do not have 5G mobile networks.
“5G has been commercially deployed in only about 30 nations of the world but as at today, about 200 countries of the world have recorded confirmed cases of COVID-19. Iran does not have 5G but has recorded cases. Nigeria only had a trial of the network in October 2019 in Abuja and Lagos, using the same frequencies of 2.6 gigahertz which 4G uses and we have coronavirus ravaging almost all the states of the Federation. That goes to show that the two are not in any way connected,” Prof Azubogu said.
He, however, emphasized that enough research has not been done to establish the implication of all these wireless cellular communications including 5G, 4G, 3G and 2G on human health.
All wireless communication, he noted, runs on electromagnetic waves and energies that are being radiated.
Azubogu said although the frequencies of the wireless communication fall under the non-ionizing category, they do heat up the biological matters, alluding that there have been established cases of electromagnetic waves causing skin cancer.
“Wireless communication technologies run on Radiofrequency (RF) Electromagnetic fields (EMF). Electromagnetic fields (EMF) are invisible radiation of energy, characterized by their frequency, wavelength and energy.
“Low frequencies with longer wavelengths are less powerful in terms of energy, while higher frequencies with shorter wavelengths are more powerful.
“The 5G networks are planned to run on frequencies of up to 30 gigahertz of electromagnetic waves. What this simply means is that it cannot go beyond 1.5 kilometres and as such, more concentration of Base stations is needed to cover a particular area; about 40 to 50 Base stations are needed per square Kilometre, radiating around this space and bombarding biological matters. Also, many technologies are making the vision of 5G possible and one of them is Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) antenna technology. These antennas are adaptive and concentrate energies on where they are required which is the environment. So, the truth is that although the frequency is classified under the non-ionizing, it will have negative effects on human health,” the Professor explained.
Azubogu regretted that researches hitherto done in this area have been skewed towards the interest of the organizations sponsoring such research, hence the need for government to lead such venture to ensure the wholesome outcome.
He suggested some safety measures that can keep the people safe from radiation which he noted is much these days and not only from the wireless communications.
“I advise people whenever possible, to use the speakerphone mode or wired headset, not wireless headset or wireless earpiece. People should also keep their phones away from their bodies all the time especially when they are sleeping. It is also advised that one carries his or her phones in a purse and not in a pocket, bra or belt holster. We should also try to send text messages instead of always talking on the phone,” he advised.
