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5G and beyond

    • 05 MAY 19

    Is 5G Worth the Risks?

    In recent months there’s been a lot of talk about 5G – the next generation of wireless technology. 5G is being touted as a necessary step to the ‘internet of things’ – a world in which our refrigerators alert us when we’re low on milk, our baby’s diapers tell us when they need to be changed, and Netflix is available everywhere, all the time. But what we’re not hearing is that evidence-based studies worldwide have clearly established the harmful effects of human exposure to pulsed radiofrequency radiation from cell towers, cell phones and other devices – and that 5G will make the problem exponentially worse…SNIP

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    • 25 APR 19

    Are community concerns over the 5G network rollout based on unfounded anxiety or valid evidence?’

    Published on Daruisz Leszczynsik’s blog,Between a Rock and a Hard place, a paper by Don Maisch Phd …5th generation (5G) wireless technology, as the name indicates, is the next generation wireless communication network from 4G and 4G LTE. Once fully implemented it will predominantly operate in the millimetre (mm) radiofrequency band which will allow much higher data transfer necessary for driverless vehicles, the Internet of Things (IoT), faster video downloads as well as other applications, including military. The downside of 5G mmWave, however, is that the signals do not penetrate objects readily such as buildings and foliage, in comparison to the lower frequencies. This necessitates a far denser network of 5G small cell antennas which will be mounted on power poles, light poles, street furniture, bus shelters, etc. which in many cases will be close to homes, workplaces and public areas. In some cases internal antennas in buildings will also be used. This will result in higher chronic radiofrequency exposures to humans in these areas. The high number of small cells needed for an effective 5G network is causing community disquiet and that, combined with many scientific unknowns about the possible biological effects of prolonged exposure to mm waves, is resulting in increasing community opposition in Australia and internationally. As community opposition is most likely going to increase as 5G infrastructure continues to be rolled out nationally, the question arises: Is this opposition to 5G warranted or not?..SNIP

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    • 15 APR 19

    International Symposium: Biological Effects of Wireless Technology, Mainz, Germany, October 2019

    An international symposium, titled; “Technical progress or progressive irresponsibility? Biological Effects of Wireless Technology” has been organised by a number of European organisations, a partial listing includes:

    The Competence Initiative for the Protection of Humans, the Environmental and Consumer Organization for the Protection against Electromagnetic Radiation, the European Academy of Environmental Medicine (EUROPAEM), Pandora – the Foundation for Independent Research, the Association of Building Biology and other partners. The event is sponsored by Stiftung für Kinder, Freiburg and Auerbach Stiftung, Tettnang. It will take place on October 4. – 6., 2019 at the Electoral Palace Mainz.

    Excerpts from the symposium announcement (detailed schedule of the symposium will be announced later):

    Cell phones, Smartphones, Tablets … Smart Home … Smart City … Internet of Things … The digital transformation of our society is expected to continue with the new 5G standard, largely through mobile and wireless communication. As a result, radiation exposure due to mobile and wireless communication technologies, their infrastructure and applications will increase enormously.

    What health risks are involved? What are the possible consequences for particular groups at risk, especially children and adolescents?…SNIP

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    • 08 APR 19

    New report on 5G implementation for the European Parliament mentions “unacceptable levels of human exposure to electromagnetic radiation”

    This in-depth analysis was prepared by Policy Department A at the request of the ITRE Committee for the European Parliament. It compares 5G deployment in the EU with other leading economies – the USA, China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore and Taiwan. On a range of indicators, the EU compares well. However, this is not a short-term race. 5G is more complex than previous wireless technologies and should be considered as a long-term project to solve technical challenges and develop a clear business case…SNIP… One aspect, for example, that is not well understood today is the unpredictable propagation patterns that could result in unacceptable levels of human exposure to electromagnetic radiation..SNIP

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    • 08 APR 19

    The new global arms race: 5G

    From the Washington Post, republished in South China Morning Post, April 4, 2019

    The six ex-commanders bluntly said Chinese 5G equipment risked espionage and disruptive cyberattacks on military operations, and ‘the time for action is now’
    The statement was timed to the opening of a Nato summit of foreign ministers in Washington

    Excerpt

    Former Pentagon leaders have joined current chiefs to warn about the risks to future US military operations posed by allies in Europe and Asia using Chinese technology in their 5G wireless telecommunications networks.

    In a statement Wednesday, six former officials noted that the immense bandwidth and super-high speeds of the coming 5G systems – up to 100 times faster than current 4G platforms – will make them attractive for the US military to use to share data with allies or transfer information in combat…SNIP

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    • 03 APR 19

    New 5G Network Spurs Health Concerns

    Excerpt

    The popularity and widespread use of wireless technologies has spawned a telecommunications revolution with increasing public exposure to broader and higher frequencies of the electro-magnetic spectrum as we transmit data through a variety of devices. The Telecom industry is promoting the replacement of our current cellular network, 4G (fourth generation) with a new generation of shorter high frequency 5G wavelengths to power the “Internet of Things” (IoT). The IoT promises faster data processing, amazing new gadgets and a lifestyle that mirrors science fiction. However, 5G will require a massive telecommunications network with many more cell towers–resulting in wireless antennas every few feet, greater radiofrequency radiation (RFR) and increasing concerns about health.

    Because this is the first generation to have cradle-to-grave lifespan exposure to this level of man-made microwave radiofrequencies, it will be years or decades before the true health consequences are known. There are still many questions about the safety of RFR in 2G, 3G and 4G wireless technologies. Informed health experts strongly recommend precaution in the roll out of 5G tech…SNIP

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    • 11 MAR 19

    Mobile safety standards relaxed ahead of 5G networks

    Excerpt:
    From The Telegraph

    By Margi Murphy, US Technology Reporter, San Francisco

    9 March 2019 • 8:00pm
    Safety restrictions on how much radiation phone masts are allowed to emit are to be relaxed next month, ahead of the introduction of 5G networks.

    ICNIRP, the global scientific body used to set standards on radio frequency emissions from smartphones, WiFi routers and phone masts, will vote on easing its guidelines next month.

    The Munich-headquartered organisation, made up of a dozen scientists, believe the existing rules can be relaxed without any health risks.

    Telecoms companies have been hoping the restrictions will be relaxed to allow them to set up next-generation mobile networks, which will require more powerful signals…SNIP

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    • 25 FEB 19

    5G Waves Surprise! More 5G complications (2 articles)

    Excerpts:

    As network operators furtively roll out 5G services, the cellular communications industry is learning about 5G on the fly, finding one unexpected challenge after another. It’s more difficult than they had anticipated, and in response they’re incurring greater startup costs than they’d originally budgeted for….SNIP…From the moment that the wireless industry decided it would make use of higher frequencies for 5G transmission, everyone has known spectrum would have some ramifications for those deployment plans. One issue, it turns out, will probably not be that big of a deal, the other somewhat more consequential, but neither is addressed very often. Both derive from what’s commonly known: the higher the frequency of a wireless signal, the less well it propagates and the less able it is to penetrate obstacles. So as a practical matter: 1) In contrast to deploying 3G and 4G, deploying 5G will require distinct indoor and outdoor strategies. 2) 5G base stations will have to be spaced more closely, necessitating more of them, especially in densely populated areas.
    SNIP

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    • 24 FEB 19

    Dr. Martin Pall: “Putting in tens of millions of 5G antennae without a single biological test of safety has got to be about the stupidest idea anyone has had in the history of the world.”

    By Arjun Walia

    Excerpt:

    We are in the midst of a 5G wireless technology rollout, and politicians have yet to address safety concerns. I recently used Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as an example, but it’s happening worldwide. It’s one of many examples that illustrates how large corporations completely control politics. I also recently wrote about Robert F. Kennedy explaining how this came to be, and how they’ve been able to completely compromise government, big media, and our federal regulatory agencies that are supposed to be protecting and informing us.

    In the video, he uses Big Pharma as an example, as they provide the most money to congress; even more so than big oil and gas. In that article I also outline multiple examples of fraud so readers can get a clearer picture of what’s going on and see some actual evidence of it.

    It’s clear that we are not being protected, and politicians are simply abiding to the the will of their masters, the big corporations, who in turn act as slaves to their ‘financial overlords,’ the big banks. We continue to see products and services being approved and implemented without ever going through any safety testing. This is a big problem, and one of the main reasons why we could be seeing a drastic rise in multiple diseases and ailments, especially when it comes to neuropsychiatric disorders. A study titled “Microwave frequency electromagnetic fields (EMFs) produce widespread neuropsychiatric effects including depression” published in the Journal of Chemical Neuroanatomy outlines this quite clearly, and it’s only one of thousands of peer-reviewed studies raising multiple concerns in regards to this type of technology…SNIP

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    • 22 FEB 19

    Trump wants 6G internet ‘as soon as possible’

    From The Verge
    Yes, you read that right: 6G
    By Chaim Gartenberg@cgartenberg
    Excerpt:
    5G may be one of the biggest internet buzzwords around, but Donald Trump is already over it. Instead, Trump has moved on to 6G. The president announced in a pair of tweets this morning that he’d like to see 6G in the United States alongside 5G “as soon as possible.”

    It’s not entirely clear what spurred Trump’s sudden tweets in support of next-gen cellular communications standards. Perhaps Fox & Friends mentioned the announcement of Samsung’s new Galaxy S10 5G, and Trump was dismayed that Verizon had no live 5G network on which the device could actually function in the United States yet. Or maybe the president’s phone got AT&T’s 5G E update, reminding Trump that US carriers are relying on cheap tricks to convince customers they have faster speeds…SNIP

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    • 02 FEB 19

    5G will enable ‘smart’ future warfare

    Excerpt:

    Apart from its tremendous commercial benefits, 5G – the fifth generation of mobile communication – is revolutionising military and security technology, which is partly why it has become a focal point in the United States efforts to contain China’s rise as a tech power and its allegations against Chinese companies. The future landscape of warfare and cybersecurity could be fundamentally changed by 5G. But experts say 5G is more susceptible to hacking than previous networks, at a time of rising security concerns and US-China tensions on various interconnected fronts that include trade, influence in the Asia-Pacific region and technological rivalry. These tensions provide the backdrop to controversy surrounding Huawei, the world’s largest telecoms equipment supplier. Long before the Chinese company was indicted in the US this week on multiple charges including stealing trade secrets and violating US sanctions – charges it denies – US intelligence voiced concerns that Huawei’s telecommunications equipment could contain “back doors” for Chinese espionage. Huawei has repeatedly denied these allegations, but the controversies have underlined 5G’s growing importance and stepped up the technological arms race between China and the US. To most people, the next-generation networks, which will be at least 20 times faster than the most advanced networks today, may just mean faster downloads of movies or smoother streaming. But they have much bigger potential than that…SNIP

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    • 01 FEB 19

    Part II: Australia’s Optus is turbo-charging 5G roll-out

    Excerpt from the blog of Dariusz Leszczynski:

    Optus to deploy 1,200 5G sites by March 2020, launches 5G Home Broadband service

    Thursday 31 January 2019 | 09:13 CET | News

    Australian operator Optus has announced details of its 5G Home Broadband service which is underpinned by a plan to deliver 1,200 5G sites by March 2020. In partnership with Nokia, which is supplying the 5G RAN and Fastmile 5G CPEs, Optus 5G sites are now live in two suburbs in Canberra, with an additional site live in Sydney and 47 more sites planned to be online by March 2019… SNIP

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    • 31 JAN 19

    Part I: Misleading opinion on 5G small cells presented by the ABC News in Australia

    From the blog of Dariusz Leszczynski, Between a Rock and a Hard Place, January 18, 2019

    Excerpt:

    Misleading opinion on 5G small cells presented by the ABC News is simply a lie.

    On January 6th, 2019 (with an update on Jan. 7th) ABC News in Australia posted a story on installation in residential areas of small cells that will be used by the 5G networks. The story was aimed at assuring the residents, who are having small cell boxes installed by Telstra and Optus in the vicinity of their homes, that there is no health problem whatsoever because radiation emitted by the small cells is the same as 4G network radiation that is already emitted by the large antennas. ABC News was saying, in the Australian way, “no worries mate”…

    However, there is something badly wrong with the opinion presented by the ABC News’ journalists, Ashleigh Raper and Nick Sas, and by the scientific expert used by the ABC News, Dr. Geza Benke of the Monash University in Melbourne…SNIP

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    • 22 JAN 19

    Why the Australian government will not advise the public on wireless technologies’ risks to health – At least for now.

    EMFacts blog Commentary by Don Maisch PhD 20, January 2019

    Excerpt: In stark contrast to a recent Italian court ruling where three Italian government ministries have acknowledged that there is a need to raise public awareness on how to use mobile phones safely (previous message) it is highly unlikely that such concern for public safety will be issued from the Australian government, considering the pro-technology bias of the agencies and individuals who currently advise government ministers on telecommunications issues….SNIP

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    • 18 JAN 19

    Australian residents and councils raise health concerns about “small cell” installations

    From Stop Smart Meters Australia

    Excerpt:
    Australian residents and councils raise health concerns about “small cell” installations
    Posted on January 18, 2019 by Stop Smart Meters Australia

    The ABC reported earlier this month that residents in NSW have petitioned for the removal of small cell boxes. “In a move that experts say will become more common as Australia prepares itself for the 5G rollout, TPG, in conjunction with China’s Huawei, has begun placing the transmitters – roughly the size of two shoe boxes – on power poles across the suburb of Ryde, in Sydney’s north-west.”…SNIP

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    • 23 DEC 18

    LiFi is a paradigm-shifting 5G technology

    Published in Reviews in Physics 3 (2018) 26–31

    LiFi is a paradigm-shifting 5G technology

    Harald Haas, LiFi Research and Development Centre, The University of Edinburgh, King’s Buildings, Edinburgh, EH9 3JL, UK

    A B S T R A C T
    In this paper we will first explain what Light-Fidelity (LiFi) is and argue that it is a 5th Generation
    (5G) technology. Peak transmission speeds of 8 Gbps from a single light source have been demonstrated,
    and complete cellular networks based on LiFi have been created. We will discuss
    numerous misconceptions and illustrate the potential impact this technology can have across a
    number of existing and emerging industries. We also discuss new applications which LiFi can
    unlock in the future….SNIP

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    • 16 DEC 18

    Swedish expert warnings on 5G

    The following is my Google inspired translation from the Swedish publication Västerbottens-Kuriren, which is mentioned in Lennart Hardell’s latest blog.

    Published in Västerbottens-Kuriren, December 7, 2018

    Excerpt:
    Unethical experiment in Umeå

    Debate Articles. (2018-12-07) Do not risk public health in Umeå. There is no research on health effects of 5G. A drug would never be approved without prior testing of the drug in clinical trials. Therefore, there is a good reason to call the introduction of 5G in Umeå for a giant, unethical experiment with humans, writes a group of researchers…SNIP

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    • 08 DEC 18

    Compliance Problems for 5G rollout detailed in new technical paper

    From Cindy Sage:

    A newly released paper by Esra Neufeld and Niels Kuster identifies serious compliance problems for the 5G millimeter wave rollout and says existing IEEE and ICNIRP safety guidelines urgently need to be revised.

    Cindy Sage

    SYSTEMATIC DERIVATION OF SAFETY LIMITS FOR TIME-VARYING 5G RADIOFREQUENCY EXPOSURE BASED ON ANALYTICAL MODELS AND THERMAL DOSE.

    Health Physics, December 2018, Volume 115, Number 6

    Esra Neufeld1 and Niels Kuster1,2 Foundation for Research on Information Technologies in Society (IT’IS), Zeughausstrasse 43, 8004 Zurich, Switzerland; 2Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland.

    The paper says is that permanent tissue damage from heating may occur even after short exposures
    to 5G millimeter wave pulse trains (where repetitive pulses can cause rapid, localized heating).

    It says there is an urgent need for new thermal safety standards to address the kind of health risks possible with this new technology…SNIP

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    • 04 DEC 18

    US Senator presses FCC Commissioner to Disclose his claim of evidence of 5G Safety

    Excerpt:
    From Business Wire:

    Blumenthal Presses FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr to Disclose Evidence of ‘5G Safety’
    December 03, 2018 05:43 PM Eastern Standard Time

    WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The National Institute for Science, Law & Public Policy (NISLAPP) applauds Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) for pressing FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, Esq. to provide documentation substantiating the Commissioner’s remarks defending ‘5G safety.’

    “clear direction, talking points, studies that have been done that show that there is no harm to our constituents and to the taxpayers on putting these small cells on towers close to libraries, close to schools, close to their homes.”

    NISLAPP seconds this request. Jim Turner, Esq., President of NISLAPP, says:

    “NISLAPP considers it a mistake to place new high-frequency radiating antennas in local communities, in very close proximity to homes, offices and schools, when no pre-market health testing at scale has been conducted on the effects of the radiation emitted, to our knowledge, and when much safer hard-wired internet access technologies are readily available. We strongly support Senator Blumenthal’s request of FCC Commissioner Carr to provide the documentation evidencing the FCC’s ‘safety determination for 5G,’ along with the supporting scientific citations used in making that determination.”…SNIP

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    • 22 NOV 18

    Telstra launches its first 5G-enabled sites in Tasmania

    Excerpt:
    Media Release

    Telstra launches its first 5G-enabled sites in Tasmania

    Embargoed until 8am 22 November 2018 – Telstra has switched on two 5G-enabled base stations
    in Launceston, bringing 5G technology to Tasmania for the first time.

    Speaking at the TasICT Industry Breakfast in Hobart, Telstra’s Network Engineering Executive, Mr
    Channa Seneviratne, said the sites, at Invermay and Norwood, marked an important milestone in Telstra’s
    5G network strategy.

    “This is an exciting first step for our 5G rollout in Tasmania with Launceston now among the first cities in
    Australia to have sites upgraded with 5G technology,” Mr Seneviratne said. “This investment is part of our planning to bring 5G services to as many of our customers as possible once 5G compatible devices are commercially available next year. “Telstra is leading the Australian market on 5G with a series of world and Australian firsts in 5G testing and network development and over the coming months we will continue expanding our 5G roadmap with plans to roll out to more capital cities, regional centres and other high demand areas across Australia.” SNIP

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