5G & Coronavirus: I have seen/read alot of news from various corners that somehow connect the two. Having worked on several 5G projects, I thought I would shed some light from a personal perspective. A thread: 1/13
Broadly speaking, there are 3 parts to the massively overloaded term, 5G; 1) 5G New Radio (NR) technology which covers radio frequencies, modulation, power levels, antennas, etc, (with concerns around biological impact of these), that drive latency and connection speeds, 2/13
2) the network core software platform that drives how operators deploy/manage the network infrastructure, & 3) the user/device services which introduce unprecedented insights and value for end users (with concerns around data privacy, citizens rights and state-policing). 3/13
Most of these posts are specific to the biological impact of 5G NR. Some points on this: 4/13
i) 5G NR utilises low, mid and high frequency bands, which are mostly in use in many countries for other services for many years already (satellite, microwave links, WiFi, etc). For example, microwave links use 3.5GHz (mid band) and 26GHz (high band) in Nigeria, 5/13
WiFi uses up to about 5GHz indoors, 4G uses up to about 3GHz and so on. How come there has not been much pre-Coronavirus epidemic/pandemic for the use of these technologies until now? 6/13
ii) 5G NR has been so far deployed in several countries (South Korea, US, UK, Japan, and several others) for some time now. If Coronavirus is related to these 5G deployments then why has the disease not started in these countries yet? 7/13
iii) research continues on the biological effect of radio technologies with no specific conclusions to 5G; any more than previous wireless technologies such as WiFi/4G/microwave. Yes, power levels and frequency may be pervasive and higher in 5G but we wait for the evidence. 8/13
iv) Lastly, viruses have existed long before the human discovery of radio technology, which has only been only in the past 100 years or so. Even then, I haven't seen or read any study that relates radio technologies to viruses. 9/13
In conclusion though, the question here is one of the massive potential economic value 5G (like previous 4/3/2/1G) brings to human development (and Nigeria in particular) in terms of the much-needed connectivity infrastructure to foster the diversification of the economy. 10/13
Every technology has pros and cons (like Social Media, the Internet, TV, etc) - if on balance it proves beneficial then its justified. It would be disastrous if the authorities somehow delay the deployment of 5G due to this on-going whirl of fake news. 11/13
Perhaps a much needed public campaign is due to highlight the benefits of 5G to the country and also discuss and aleviate the citizens concerns. 12/13
Views in this tweet are strictly personal. 13/13
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