The 5G Controversy

by Ira Sharma

What’s better than “Avengers: Endgame” downloading on your laptop within a few minutes to enjoy after a grueling, seemingly never-ending week’s installments of chaotic ups and downs? “Avengers: Endgame” downloading within a few seconds — not even giving you enough time to make the popcorn and get yourself comfortable. What’s allowing you to view the combination of heroic battle, tear-jerking reunions and sci-fi time travel all culminating in a moment that leaves you at the edge of your seat and unconsciously expecting the death of … Oh, wait, this is a spoiler free article. Sometimes I forget that some of you haven’t watched one of the top-grossing films of all time. But that’s another discussion. Anyways, is this magic? Sorcery? Tony Stark himself taking a break from finding the infinity stones to develop his latest invention of ultrafast Wi-Fi for you? Turns out, it’s the work of none other than 5G.

In the last decade we have witnessed immeasurable growth in wireless access to the internet and telecommunication. Cellular network operators have already tackled fourth-generation Long-Term Evolution (4G LTE) and broke through LTE-Advanced radio technologies to keep up with the market demand for streaming and social media services. Essentially, carriers upgrade to another wireless standard about every decade, with 4G, the fourth-generation network, being introduced 10 years ago, promising significantly faster speeds and more reliability than 3G. Now, they are hurtling their way toward 5G — the most advanced cellular standard. Interestingly, however, 5G is more than just a more robust version of 4G. The revolutionarily fast variant of 5G is referred to as the millimeter wave (MMW), which allows carriers to relay data at ultra-fast speeds. In general, 5G offers three new features: larger channels (speeds up data), the ability to connect to a lot more devices at one time, and lower latency (faster responsiveness). From these, even self-driving cars for instance will require low latency below the 1-millisecond mark that 5G can provide. Now let’s get into how this works.

Mobile phones, from the very first generation, have been able to operate on the radio-frequency bands of the electromagnetic spectrum. But as more users saturate the network and use more and more data, cellular traffic starts to block the radio-wave channels. To combat this, cellular carriers want to expand into the higher frequencies of millimeter waves. Millimeter waves (whose wavelengths are roughly 1 to 10 millimeters while radio waves measure in centimeters) utilize frequencies between 30 and 300 gigahertz, which, surprisingly, are almost 10 to 100x higher than the radio waves that we use right now with 4G.

Despite all of this techno-sciencey jargon, 5G has come under the magnifying glass for potentially posing health risks due to the high frequency radiation. There has even been news that hundreds of birds have died in a short period of time at Huijgenspark, Netherlands — allegedly because of 5G. “A higher frequency equals more dangerous” seems to be an unspoken mantra when analyzing the health effects of technology on humans. Luckily for us, this seemingly intuitive fact is merely a misconception that arose from a poorly interpreted study on the wave frequency and its absorption in the brain tissue done by physicist Bill P. Curry in 2000. The graph from his study revealed the stark increase in tissue damage with rising frequency of radio waves, misjudging his finding as applying to cells deep inside our bodies and failing to recognize the human skin’s protective effect. In reality, the skin functions as a barrier at higher radio frequencies and can effectively shield the brain and other organs from exposure, known as the “shielding effect.”  People tend to think of radiation as an unseen fatal electromagnetic wave that is a stealthy threat to our health, when in actuality, all light falls under the category of radiation, which is merely energy moving through space. The high-risk radiation people often think of is ionizing radiation, due to its ability to break chemical bonds and strip atoms of electrons, damaging cells — especially skin cells. This type of radiation is observed from short-wavelength ultraviolet light from the sun and sky. Non-ionizing radiation — which millimeter waves are — are typically only hazardous when heated too much. At high exposures, this energy can result in thermal damage, but these are usually an effect of high-powered radio frequency transmitters, or at times medical procedures gone wrong — not from millimeter waves.

Technology in this day and age feels like two cars headed for the same tunnel, leaving you questioning which one gets there first or if both will meet upon collision. The changes occur more rapidly than we are able to keep up with — working in mysterious patterns and seemingly without rhyme or reason. We progress without thinking, without analyzing, without questioning the broader implications, perfectly encapsulating our generation. We live in a fast-paced world where one minute we think we’re in the loop only to realize we’ve been far removed, peering in as an outsider, looking in at the wheels constantly turning in efforts to create the next big technological advancement. Whether 5G will pose an imminent threat to us and the environment remains unclear, but various research has debunked the myth that continues to spark controversy. So, for now, continue to enjoy movie night Fridays without the fear of high frequency radiation penetrating your cells.