Sorry, 5G isn't going to kill you (a thread)

First, what is '5G'? how is it different than 4G?

New radio (NR) interface - uses optimized orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing, just like LTE and WiFi, for carrying multiple signals over the same frequencies. This tech has been around for almost 60 years.

Massive MIMO (multiple in, multiple out) - grouping sets of antennas together for greater bandwidth and power efficiency.

Edge computing - data centers (that handle application processing) moved closer to the radio network (the edge), so traversal of packets from phone to servers and back takes less time (latency).

So, high bandwidth, low latency wireless connectivity. But also:
It's frequency-agnostic -- the same frequencies in use today, plus some new ones, will be used; e.g. 800Mhz, 2.5Ghz (the "sub-6" spectrum) and millimeter (24 Ghz+) -- this is important, because

Radio frequencies behave differently:
Low band (800Mhz) - great range, slow data transmission, good penetration of structures, etc. AT&T & TMobile use these frequencies a lot.

Mid band (2.5Ghz) - medium range, medium data transmission, okay penetration (think WiFi--you can see your next door neighbor's network but the signal strength is poor)

High band (24 Ghz+) - very short range, super high data transmission, really, really bad penetration (rain, high humidity blocks signals).

All the bands in use are "non-ionizing radiation", the electromagnetic spectrum up to and including visible light, that is not strong enough to remove electrons from atoms.

What they CAN do is cause excitation (heating, like your microwave oven at home).

Wait like "microwave"? Yes, but--these aren't frequencies that resonate with the human body--so they have a very hard time penetrating more than a few millimeters of skin, and they're easily reflected;

It's the reason tower climbers can wear tyvek suits (just like painters wear) to reflect harmful levels of radiation. "But you've been saying it's not harmful!"

Bare skin exposed to enough RF radiation at sufficiently high power levels can cause a burn, just like a sunburn. Some of you that are worried about this are still going to tanning salons.

Above that, x-rays and gamma rays (ionizing radiation) can a) penetrate living tissue AND b) damage DNA. E.g. overuse of x-ray imaging causing cancer, gamma radiation from nuclear weapons.

"But what about Illuminati, NWO, and probably Joos?!"

Okay. Let's assume a dark & mysterious cabal of people exist that want to (insert nefarious scheme). Operating in dark, smoke-filled rooms. They have their agents on the boards of the world's wireless companies.

Now go down about 37 layers of management to the engineers and scientists that developed the technology itself. Despite the scheming of their superiors, they have families, feelings, and are not evil.

These people design & test their new technologies with safety in mind--because normal people like you & me (albeit with advanced degrees in Electrical Engineering & similar) don't want to hurt people.

There are a number of industry white papers discussing the methodology for testing new antenna deployment and orientation so as to minimize the chance that anyone in the real world would ever experience so much as warming of the skin.

I'd link them here but a) they're on the internet for anyone to read (go find it yourself), and b) they're really, really boring, even if you have an advanced degree in EE.

The End