5G IN MERTON WELCOMES YOU
5G-HANG ON, IS THIS A GOOD IDEA?
Behold the vision!
Source: DCMS- Next Generation Mobile Technologies: An update to the 5G
WHAT IS 5G ACTUALLY?
All you need to know is unlike previous generations of network it will be deployed in the millimetre-wave spectrum with cells operating frequencies at or above 24 GHz.
If you're into being a bit techie...
Unlike those previous generations of mobile network, 5G is unlikely to be defined by any single form of technology. It’s often referred to as "the network of networks" for the way it will bind together multiple existing and future standards, including current advanced LTE (4G) networks. On a more general level, however, it will increasingly be defined by the use of higher radio frequencies. It's meant to deliver faster download speeds and lower latency meaning it is more responsive to user input, for instance during game-play.
Apart from 24 GHz, government also intends to start work on making 66-71 GHz band available.
Other spectrum bands are also planned to be used for 5G: 700 MHz being suitable for providing coverage over a wide geographical area and 3.4 GHz, which has a much shorter range but can support faster data transfers than 700 MHz.
WHEN'S IT HAPPENING?
According to The Department of Digital Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) there is broad consensus that commercial rollout of 5G in the UK should begin by 2020, with competition likely to drive the mobile market to initially provide enhanced mobile broadband services.
Digital connectivity part of the government's industrial strategy. DCMS says it wants the “UK to become a world-leading digital economy that works for everyone.” 5G is a big part of this, so let's say they are pretty keen on it.
STEPS GOVERNMENT IS TAKING TO ACHIEVE THIS:
Extending mobile coverage to 95% of UK geography.
The Government’s 5G Testbeds and Trials Programme- tax-payer funded R&D basically
Working out how private investment in 5G can be encouraged/made easier
Working with Local Government to make sites available for deployment of infrastructure and to deliver the levels of connectivity which reflect the need of local areas (not defined) via the Local Connectivity Group
Developing future-focused spectrum policy to help ensure that spectrum is allocated in a way that supports the Government's mobile ambitions
New cross-government, barrier-busting task force (don't mess!), which will be working with industry, local authorities and Ofcom to address barriers to the deployment of digital infrastructure.
WHY AM I READING THIS AND WHAT'S THE PROBLEM YOU ANNOYING KILL-JOY?
Our health, mainly
My concern was sparked by the U.S. senate hearing on 6 Feb 2019, Richard Blumenthal asked wireless industry representatives whether there are any health implications of 5G, which due to its much shorter wavelength frequency will require potentially millions of transmitters to be added closer to homes, schools, workplaces (currently there are 200,000 4G transmitters in the US).
Earlier in Dec 2018 he requested studies to be provided on the safety of the technology to be demonstrated. Nothing was provided. The industry representatives confirmed to the senator that there has been no funding of independent studies and no independent industry-backed research has taken place regarding the safety of 5G for the public. Blumenthal concluded “we're flying blind in terms of health and safety is concerned”.
The UK Health Protection Agency rode to the rescue when I was hoping for some good news. In April 2012 it published “Health Effects from Radio frequency Electromagnetic Fields, Report of the independent Advisory Group on Non-ionising Radiation” It found that there was no consistent evidence that warrants concern.
The American Cancer Society (ACS) also says fears around radio frequency waves (yep including 5G) are largely baseless:
“Cellphones work by sending signals to (and receiving them from) nearby cell towers using RF waves. This is a form of electromagnetic energy that falls between FM radio waves and microwaves. Like FM radio waves, microwaves, visible light, and heat, RF waves are a form of non-ionizing radiation. They don’t have enough energy to cause cancer by directly damaging the DNA inside cells. RF waves are different from stronger (ionizing) types of radiation such as x-rays, gamma rays, and ultraviolet (UV) light, which can break the chemical bonds in DNA,” the ACS explains. “At very high levels, RF waves can heat up body tissues. But the levels of energy given off by cellphones are much lower, and are not enough to raise temperatures in the body.”
This is echoed by industry which says 5G is harmless because it is below the thermal threshold, i.e the waves do not heat our body. Recent studies have been done on the health effects of RF below the thermal threshold and negative results have been found in the studies.
In 2016 the largest study to date on mobile phones and cancer, the $25M National Toxicology study in the US found a link between mobile phone radiation and cancer. Scientists found the increased risk at radiation exposure levels similar to what’s deemed safe by the U.S. government. In the rat study, the mobile phone radiation raised levels of brain cancer and a rare heart tumour, there was clear evidence for the latter-malignant schwannomas (the document by the way only reviewed these 2 aspects of heath risk). Risk increased with higher radiation exposure.
Yes, more research needs to be done before we can definitely say mobile phone radiation causes cancer in humans. The question is, should we be exposed to ever higher levels in the meantime? This study looked at RF emitted by 2 and 3G mobiles, it didn't include the additional exposure of 4 and 5G.
The 2012 assessment of the UK Health Protection Agency that “ there was no consistent evidence that warrants concern.” is now on shaky ground. The Ramazzini Institute (RI) study in 2017 also found results consistent with the NTP study: An increase in the incidence of very rare highly malignant tumours—schwannomas of the heart. It also reported a decrease in litter weights in the RFR exposed groups . These effects are now considered a reproducible finding. Again, these findings occurred at non-thermal levels, the RFR exposures were at levels the U.S govt considers allowable, yet a statistically significant increase in malignancies was found.
WE'VE BEEN FLYING BLIND UP TO 4G, SO WHAT'S THE PROBLEM NOW?
5G's requirement for a huge number of transmitters and our government's strategy for at least 95% 5G connectivity in the UK, represents a massive step change in EM radiation. At the moment, there is an option to move away or some distance from a transmitter, with 5G that wont exist. The allocation of high frequency wavelength to 5G means it can't travel far. So antennas will be placed every 10-12 houses and with 5G internet of things (IoT) where fridges and smart meters etc are sending and receiving signals that is a substantial increase in RF-EMF to all citizens and it will be added to 3 and 4G & WiFi. The studies mentioned show it has a cumulative effect over time.
WHAT TO DO?! WHAT TO DO?!
What are your skills, what do you enjoy doing? Try to channel that into helping to bring sanity.
Talk to your friends and family. Listening is more important than talking I've found. What are they interested in? Trees, animals, family health, tech, food, privacy, democracy, community and friends? Talk to them with this in mind.
You'll need to get to know the topic yourself and know what is going on. Be savvy/aware of how the issue is being muddied, (very reminiscent of how the smoking debate in relation to health was messed with, so there was needless prolonged uncertainty around it).
Read the 5G and the Precautionary Principle document in the resources section of the site.
Let MPs and your local councillors know about the issue and the concerns raised by Senator Richard Blumenthal, Dr Joel Moskowitz, a public health professor at the University of California, and the 270 doctors and scientists from the International Society of Doctors that: “The deployment of 5G, constitutes a massive experiment on the health of all species”
I've noticed a tendency of senior officials using a faux certain and authoritative tone to make inaccurate statements, they also try to put people on the spot but if you know the info, are comfortable in your mind about it then you'll storm it!
No independent testing has been done, he effect on our health is unknown,
the precautionary principle needs to be applied
Eric Van Rongen, Chair of ICNIRP [self-proclaimed international commission on non-ionizing radiation protection, but actually just a German NGO], the organisation whose non-transparent pronouncements on the international limits at which phones can emit radiofrequency are strangely adopted by UN bodies, calls 5G “a public health experiment”, stating that “It will be necessary to gain more information about the exposure and any health problems that might come from an effect of that exposure”. This is the body from which the UK government takes its lead.
An EU report admits that 5G is a massive experiment, lamenting that “it is not possible to accurately simulate or measure 5G emissions in the real world” and stating that “complex interference effects … may result, especially in dense urban areas
On learning that Montreal would serve as a “living laboratory” designed to test 5G technology (50-60K antennas planned for Montreal), Guy Boulianne calls it a criminal act and calls for a people’s movement to oppose the deployment of 5G in Montreal and elsewhere. François Croteau, Director of the “Smart” city project, said that this “urban laboratory” would “enable the different branches of public health, federal and provincial, to come in and do analyses to see the potential impacts on public health”, adding that the studies conducted to date on the subject had been “contradictory”.
Lloyds of London, whose business relies on precaution will not insure against 5G wireless claims. Lloyd’s November 2010 Risk Assessment Team’s Report compares these wireless technologies with asbestos, in that the early research on asbestos was “inconclusive” and only later did it become obvious to anyone paying attention that asbestos causes cancer.
Any kind of transmitting wireless antennas such as those on cell towers, should not be near homes, schools, parks or hospitals. We need to switch to wired communications, reducing the need for wireless connections. Wired communication is higher quality, less vulnerable to cyber attacks and safer for human health because wired technology does not have radio frequency exposure.
Cece Doucette is very clear on wireless in schools well-informed, clear, does not browbeat:
https://youtu.be/fxvkX4OeBpk & https://youtu.be/IoFI_8-Yt0g
We ourselves are electromagnetic, our cells (communicate and reproduce electromagnetically, our heart and brain are electromagnetic). We, nor our local representatives should be bullied, pressured or ignored by central government's “barrier-busting task force”
The government has already introduced planning reforms in England which include a significant relaxation of restrictions on the siting and installation of small cells that will support both 4G and future 5G rollout.
So far government has:
legislated for additional permitted development rights for taller mobile masts;
removed the threshold for placing small cell antenna on commercial buildings/structures to support mobile rollout.
brought into effect new building regulations which require all new buildings and existing buildings undergoing major renovations to have infrastructure capable of delivering superfast broadband greater than 30Mbps;
SOURCES OF ENCOURAGEMENT
The problem is being recognised as shown by the video above, there is a lot of info in it but helpfully a transcript is available. People are seeing both sides and are independently reaching the same conclusions. Some local areas are keeping 5G cell towers out of their communities. City council members of Mill Valley in Northern California passed an ordinance in September 2018 to keep 5G transmitters from being deployed in residential areas.
After firefighters began exhibiting health problems, The International Association of Firefighters began opposing installing cell towers on fire stations in San Francisco.
Dr. Gunnar Heuser, who orchestrated a pilot study on firefighters at a station with cell towers said the symptoms included “problems with memory, problems with intermittent confusion, problems with weakness.”
In the UK, Mark Steele, whose background is in weapons systems engineering, is campaigning against 5G microwave transmitters being put on street lights in Gateshead. The council in Gateshead applied for an injunction to limit what Mr Steele could post online about 5G. The case was heard in October 2018 by Judge Nolan and resulted in him refusing to 'gag' Steele adding “The public have a right to know”. After reading written evidence from Mr Steele. Judge Nolan declared Mark Steele as a credible expert and engineer on EMF and GSM technologies and instructed the council to address public concern regarding 5G.
How does Mark Steele with a background in weapons engineering know so much about 5G? Millimetre frequencies (5G) have the capacity to cause a severe burning sensation in the skin and are used by the U.S. Department of Defense in crowd control guns called Active Denial Systems.
VIDEOS & MUSIC
Settle back with a cuppa and share if you like them
IS 5G GREEN?
You Ask. We Answer.
IS IT AN ENERGY-EFFICIENT AND SUSTAINABLE TECHNOLOGY?
5G does not accord with the aims of govt and planning at all levels to be more "sustainable" and to meet "net-zero" targets. 5G in Merton provided the research for this article which was then followed by this report on the findings of the Sussex Energy Group. This is mirrored by findings elsewhere in Europe and is openly written about in trade magazines. Telcos are worried by the energy costs of 5G infrastructure and power-hungry tech.
ISN'T 5G MORE EFFICIENT THAN OTHER NETWORKS?
Merton has declared a climate emergency but 5G masts does not accord with this
Massive MIMO, part of the 5G specification, allows for beam-forming capabilities When taking this into account 5G would consume 3-3.5 times the power of a 4G base station or the equivalent of 73 homes in the UK.
On top of this, they are planned to be far more in number than previous generations, their intended use is almost limitless so the devices utilising the signals and signalling back will be huge in number too.
Huawei state: "Currently energy use accounts for the majority of network costs". In the case of the largest operators’ overall energy usage it approaches 90% or more. BT is the joint-largest private purchaser of electricity in the UK.
Merton Council has to look at the evidence itself and not take the government line unquestioningly which is that 5G is “advanced, high quality and reliable” communications technology and “is essential for economic growth and social well-being” (paragraph 114 of the NPPF). Merton Council does not dispute 5G is an energy hungry technology: “The benefits of 5G technology ….is considered to outweigh potential additional energy use.” What backs up this statement? No evidence of the benefits has ever been provided.
Streaming video is currently the most energy intensive form of data transfer. The most efficient way to stream HD video is over a fibre optic connection, with only two grams of CO2 per hour of video streaming for the data centre and data transmission. A copper cable (VDSL) generates four grams per hour. UMTS data transmission (3G), however, produces 90 grams of CO2 per hour. If the transmission technology used to transmit data is 5G instead, about five grams of CO2 are emitted per hour. Seemingly i the near future Virtual and Augmented reality are would approximately consume 11 times as much energy as video.
Wired technology have other sustainability benefits Fibre to the premises/wired networks are safe, secure, perform faster and more reliably, require less maintenance/ replacement/ disposal and with ever improving encoding its capacity is more future-proof. It is also less amenable to all pervasive bulk data collection
5G devices use much more battery power tha4G devices.
Consider the whole lifecycle of manufacture from mineral extraction , processing/manufacture, usage to disposal, the energy required for back-haul and the exponential increase in devices which would be inevitable in the proposed 5G 'smart city' use cases set out in government's policy papers. It's another example of Jevon’s Paradox/rebound effect. As climate expert Professor Mike Berners-Lee says "efficiency improvements ontheir own don’t help us. They only help us if we constrain the inputs.": Laying out the future of sustainable energy' (raconteur.net). and Jevon's paradox.
LOVING OUR WILDLIFE
5G can't go through trees and wet leaves due to the millimetre frequency (MMW) it uses, requiring the culling of trees such as has been happening in Newcastle and Sheffield. The University of Surrey https://www.surrey.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2018-03/white-paper-rural-5G-vision.pdf is aware of this limitation.
Network Rail is aiming to cull 10 million trees, the stated aim however is to prevent branches and leaves from falling on the track.
The Guardian reported on the culling on 29/04/2018: “James Graham, from Manchester, said he saw thousands of trees being felled last week along a 10-mile section of the trans-Pennine route from Manchester to Leeds.
“I know they have to manage the trees, but this was excessive,” he said. “It looked like some kind of logging operation. I was sitting in the train and looking out at the countryside and all you could see was mile after mile of tree stumps and sawdust. They had felled trees which were a long way from the track. It was extreme.””
In the 2017 Autumn Budget, the Government announced an investment of £35 million to install trackside fibre and 5G network infrastructure along the Trans Pennine route between Manchester, Leeds and York. In light of this fact, is it credible this vast cull is to simply prevent leaves and branches from falling on the track?
Similarly, work is progressing on connected and autonomous vehicle trials in the West Midlands. The trial will test technical, deployment and commercial aspects of providing roadside 5G infrastructure. You may have experienced a delay along stretches of motorway which are being converted into a “smart” motorways, it will use 5G.
EFFECTS ON WILDLIFE
A field monitoring study spanning 9 years involving over 100 trees found trees sustained significantly more damage on the side of the tree facing the antenna, leaving the entire tree system prone to degradation over timehttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27552133
Bio-Electromagnetic Research Initiative (BEMRI), founded by a Merton resident contains a compilation of research showing harm to wildlife https://bemri.org/publications/plants-and-wildlife/wildlife.html
Thill - Biological effects of electromagnetic fields on insects – March 2020 The review found that despite low levels of exposure to transmitters, harmful effects occurred after several months. Field strengths 100 times below the ICNIRP limits could already have effects. Against the background of the rapid decline of insects and the further expansion of high-frequency electromagnetic field sources, there is an urgent need for further research.https://ehtrust.org/wp-content/uploads/Thill_Review_Insects_2020_Engl.pdf
Diana Kordas - 5G Cell Towers Cause Massive Insect Decline on the Greek island of Samos February 22 2022https://safetechinternational.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/5G-causes-massive-insect-declines-on-Samos.pdfThis video also discusses 2 case studies:
Lasting 27 years (1989-2016) in a protected area in Germany won an RSPB prize
Lasting 15 Years (2000-2015) in a protected area in South Africa-UNESCO
Electromagnetic radiation as an emerging driver factor for the decline of insects - Balmori 2021https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969720384461. The biodiversity of insects is threatened worldwide. Numerous studies have reported the serious decline in insects that has occurred in recent decades. The same is happening with the important group of pollinators, with an essential utility for pollination of crops. The extent that anthropogenic electromagnetic radiation represents a significant threat to insect pollinators is unresolved and plausible. For these reasons and taking into account the benefits they provide to nature and humankind the the precautionary principle should be applied before any new deployment (such as 5G) is considered.
OUR RIGHT TO PRIVACY
Internet of things (IoT) will collect a vast amount of data on your household, in real time, wireless transmissions are relatively easily hacked, automated cars will be networked, what about hacking issues there? Cell towers at close proximity from one another will scan everything which is passing through the array and therefore has the capability build up an electronic picture.
Privacy and Freedom Erased by 5G Infrastructure Enabling AI driven Smart Cities.
This vivid speech was delivered on 25th September 2019 by PM Boris Johnson at the UN. This is the transcript.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon is part of the UN delegation present. He was receptive to concerns about man-made EMR when he met with BEMRI.org
RESOURCES
Raising awareness in your communities
BBC PANORAMA FROM 2007
Features Mike Repocholi, founder of ICNIRP and Sir William Stewart former chairman of the Health Protection Agency who is expressing safety concerns and is critical of WHO's pronouncements which he says does not accurately reflect the science.
BENEFITS OF WIRED NETWORKS
Document analysing the current state of modern communications and clearly explains the benefits and
accessibility of national wireline systems that can guarantee for everyone a superior foundation of
Internet access, unequalled connectivity speed, safety, privacy, security, resiliency, energy efficiency,
and long-term sustainability.
CONTACT 5G IN MERTON
Do you have any questions or comments? Let us know if you'd like to be kept informed (we don't bombard your inbox!). We welcome any help :-)
SOURCES/FURTHER READING
Next Generation Mobile Technologies: A 5G strategy for the UK- 8 March 2017- DCMS Policy paper
Next Generation Mobile Technologies: An update to the 5G strategy for the UK- 19 Dec 2017- DCMS Policy paper
https://5g.co.uk/guides/4g-versus-5g-what-will-the-next-generation-bring/
https://ehtrust.org/wp-content/uploads/Scientist-5G-appeal-2017.pdf
https://www.ecnmag.com/blog/2018/02/will-5g-affect-your-health-maybebut-probably-not
Washington DC Council Small Cell Roundtable https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljLynbr5iPc
Captured Agency: How the Federal Communications Commission is Dominated by the Industries it Presumably Regulates by Norm Alster https://ethics.harvard.edu/files/center-for-ethics/files/capturedagency_alster.pdf
University of surrey 5G and trees
List of scientific papers from Physicians for Safe Technology. https://mdsafetech.org/5g-telecommunications-science/
Scientists and doctors calling for the precautionary principle to be applied http://www.5gappeal.eu/the-5g-appeal/
Ramazzini Institute Study: Animal Study On Base Station/Cell Tower Radiofrequency Radiation (at levels lower than US FCC and internationally referenced ICNIRP limits) Question & Answer: https://ehtrust.org/ramazzini-institute-study-animal-study-on-base-station-cell-tower-radiofrequency-radiation-question-answer/
US Senator Blumenthal Raises Concerns on 5G Wireless Technology Health Risks at Senate Hearing https://youtu.be/ekNC0J3xx1w
Planetary electromagnetic pollution: it is time to assess its impact https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(18)30221-3/fulltext
Dr Miller, The body of evidence linking cell phone radiation to cancer https://youtu.be/1OlTb3CrXNE
Former Microsoft Canada Chief Exec on 5G and wireless tech safety https://youtu.be/xSP2exnmJXg
Dr. Sharon Goldberg Testifies at Michigan's 5G Small Cell Tower Legislation Hearing October 4, 2018 https://youtu.be/YNfFdsk0ZAk
Former Microsoft Canada Chief Exec on 5G and wireless tech safety https://youtu.be/xSP2exnmJXg