Brussels halts 5G project
A planned 5G pilot project has been cancelled.
It was not compatible with the prescribed radiation limits. Brussels will not get a 5G network. The pilot project could not be reconciled with the city’s strict rules on radiation exposure, the Belgian government announced.
“5G or not – I cannot welcome a technology if the radiation limits that are meant to protect citizens are not respected. The people of Brussels are not guinea pigs whose health I can sell off for profit,” said minister Céline Fremault.
At 6 volts per metre, the Belgian capital probably has the strictest radiation rules in the world, which had already caused problems when the LTE network was rolled out. In Germany (German), for instance, the limit has been set at 61 volts per metre for years. As part of the 5G pilot project, the Belgian capital, after consulting the country’s three mobile operators, had agreed to raise the limit to 14.5 volts per metre. For the final roll-out, values of 41.5 volts per metre had been demanded.
Concerns about 5G
The Belgian government has now rejected these plans. This means Brussels, and probably the whole country, will definitely not become a pioneer of the next mobile generation. As with every introduction of a new mobile standard, there are many fears and concerns about radiation exposure.
The long-term effects on diseases such as cancer have not been conclusively researched, critics say. Others have objected to electrosmog for years and cite “electromagnetic hypersensitivity” – which the WHO does not recognise as a medical condition – as a problem.
Vienna radiation physicist Norbert Vana sees no immediate danger from the 5G roll-out in frequency bands up to 3.8 GHz, as he said in an interview with futurezone (German). The situation is different, however, if frequencies above 10 GHz are used for the 5G network. According to researchers, a number of questions still need to be answered in this respect.
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