Though 5G would be a game changer its ill effects on the human health must be evaluated and made known to the public

The wait for 5G is over as Airtel 5G services have started rolling out in India. 5G was launched on the first day of the Indian Mobile Congress (IMC) 2022 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 1st October. All the major telecom companies- Airtel, Jio, and Vi are in the process of rolling out 5G services. Airtel has taken the lead and giving its 5G services in major metros. The Jio and Vi would be offering these services soon. There is a lot of hype about the rollout of 5G and it is being touted as the next big thing in the telecom sector. It is a successor to 4G, the fifth-generation technology brings a host of improvements and capabilities. But its major advantage over 4G is its speed which makes significantly faster downloads and uploads possible and, allows simultaneous 4K streaming. Besides, 5G can be of great use for businesses and other facilities such as telemedicine, telesurgery, self-driving cars, remote surveillance, cloud computing, and location tracking. Though no denying the fact that this is the march of technology and cannot be stopped and also has distinct advantages over existing 4G networks, it has its downside too which should not be ignored or hidden from the public domain.

Most governments are ignoring the risks to human health and the environment caused by 5G radiation. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) at the World Health Organization (WHO) has classified RF radiation in the frequency range of 30 kHz to 300 GHz to be a ‘possible’ human carcinogen, Group 2B (1,2). Since there is a lack of data and research on the subject government’s the world over are opting for 5G, ignoring the previous research available on the subject which link high Radio Frequency and Electromagnetic Field (EMF) to tissue heating, cognitive functions, and cancer. As things stand today, indepth research must be commissioned to study the ill effects of 5G on human health. With so much money riding on it, there is a slim chance of that happening. The big players in the telecom would ensure that but as the public, we must be cautious before opting for 5G services. In any case, most of us could well do with 4G.