Critical reflections on 5G

Intro slide

5G is being rolled out at a break-neck speed. More and more people are asking serious questions about this. And they are right. In this episode we take a critical look at 5G.

Slide 2:

National and European governments are delighted by 5G. They dream of new applications. License sales bring in billions. Industry also loves 5G for what it allows and the profits it will bring. There is a serious downside, however. A downside kept under wraps. In this episode, we highlight what that downside is all about.

Slide 3: Health

What are the consequences of 5G for our health? In 2020, the European Parliament’s study service published an important document. According to that document, no research has yet been conducted on 5G health effects.  

https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2020/646172/EPRS_BRI(2020)646172_EN.pdf

Slide 4:

5G is not just a successor to 4G. It is a wholly novel technology using bundled radar techniques. Radiation directed straight to your device. The goal of 5G is to connect an unprecedented number of devices to the internet. That is why 5G is also called “The Internet of Things”.

Slide 5:

The ‘Internet of Things’ requires an enormous data flow. That’s only possible with new and higher frequency bands that are not yet in use. For the treasury, the auction of those frequencies is a goose with golden eggs.

Slide 6:

No one knows what the impact of 5G will be on human, plant and animal health. Governments hide behind all kinds of advisory bodies. Those bodies in turn refer to ICNIRP, which, as we now know, is not independent. Based on the damage caused by previous generations of wireless technology, 5G does not augur well.

Slide 7:

ICNIRP, from its side, continues to base its work on the thermal dogma.

In 2020, it changed its guidelines to enable a 5G roll-out. To allow for this, it altered its measurement protocols. 

The new ICNIRP procedure uses much longer averaging times. This allows for smoothing out peak values in averages. As a result, even with more intense radiation peaks, 5G seems to remain safe. A present warmly welcomed by industry.

Slide 8:

Despite the danger to our health both government and industry widely promote 5G. The public must be convinced. Urged on to consume. 

Slide 9:

Shockingly, 5G is even promoted in hospitals. People who are sick do not need 5G. They need rest, healthy food and a low-radiation environment. It is not appropriate to promote the use of 5G close to children and the weak. 

Slide 10: Energy consumption

5G uses higher frequencies and thus more energy. Substantially more energy.

5G needs millions of extra satellites and antennas. A 5G mast will consume as much power as 70 households. By 2025 this will double the telecom industry’s global energy consumption. 

Slide 11: Sustainability

In addition, producing billions of new 5G devices will substantially drive up our carbon footprint. In times of climate change, mounting environmental problems and a rising scarcity of raw materials, that is not a good idea.

Slide 12: Control and Privacy

5G cameras and antennas also raise serious questions about privacy and government surveillance. Facial recognition, crowd control, tracing and digital checks, these are developments that pose serious questions. With 5G everything and everybody will be under constant surveillance. A scary evolution straight from the movies.

Slide 13: Employment

Finally, 5G also allows for even more automation. More robots often mean fewer jobs. A good example is the port of Antwerp. 10 years ago, 12,000 people worked there. Today that number has been cut in half. Will 5G robots put even more people out of jobs?

Slide 14:

5G poses serious questions: Do we really need this? Aren’t things going too far? Is all this endangering our well-being? Social interaction is reduced to digital screentime. Wireless gadgets undermine social skills. Our children are live in screens… 

…and there is always someone watching along.

Slide 15:

This is the last episode of our information series.

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