The Need For Speed

What’s the most annoying thing we experience when we are surfing the internet on the phone? Yes, the whirling “LOADING” symbol that pops up due to lack of internet speed.

Speed – the term that is very common among human beings across the globe without any restrictions. Be it our mobile phone, laptop, charger, vehicle and many similar devices that we use in our day to day life.

Erstwhile, the thirst for speed had introduced the human being to the then 2G network, that further evolved to 3G. We were all excited to surf the internet at faster rates when E transformed into H+, right? No, human’s seeking towards the speed didn’t end there, so boomed up the 4G.

VOLTE is now celebrated as the fastest network in the telecom field. This is very true as they can fetch anything on the internet at the greatest speed possible.

Rejoice! The Fifth Generation Is On Its Way

Well now, here comes a piece of rejoicing news for the speed-data seekers, the 5th Generation 5G!!!!!
Yes, 5G is gonna boom up anytime soon, bringing its world-class speed, that is 100 times faster than 4G, at the rate of 100GB per second. That means the movie you had chosen from Netflix or Amazon Prime or Hotstar will be ready in a jiffy.

The rise of 5G will kick-off even more wireless networks, which can accommodate a very high volume of users without slowing down the speeds.

That is like a dream come true moment, isn’t it?

But please, apply some brakes to your excitement, as you just heard a trivial part of the story. Let’s roll back and examine how 5G can provide such astonishing features.

The 5G network uses frequency bands which are much higher than that of 4G and 3G, which avoids the interference with other waves, and noise.  5G can carry data much faster than 4G, but only in a very short range of about 1000 feet, which is not even 2% of the range of 4G. So, the solution is to place 5G cell towers or antennas, literally everywhere… The rate of antennas you will see then will be exponentially high, we can say as one tower in every 300 meters. That’s almost like every block in town.

Speed Thrills But Also Kills – Is It A Fact Or A Myth?

You might have come across a viral message on social media which claimed that over 296 birds die in an attempt to test 5G connectivity in the Netherlands. I had also shared this poster on my Facebook page thinking that my share would reach many users and help them understand the impacts of a 5g network in India.

Image Credit: Pixabay

But it was proved that the news was a hoax, and the birds were killed due to some other reason. Yet, don’t think we are safe from it assuming that the 5G network in India is not dangerous. So, the verdict is that it is a Fact, remember nothing comes without a price tag.

MISSING – Have You Seen The Sparrows And The Eagles?

At least in India, every kid who was born until the year 2000 had got an opportunity to see the little cute sparrows on the ground digging for grains and the high flying eagles above our kites.

Image Credit: Pixabay

But what happened then?

How many of us see these birds nowadays?

It is been more than eight years since I got a glimpse of a sparrow or an eagle out of the cage in the places I had visited and at the place where I reside. I strongly feel that the 4G spectrum played a vital role in leading to the disappearance of the sparrows and eagles in the country. I am vouching for these birds from India as I had grown up seeing these species of birds. Likewise, people in other countries might also find some of the bird species missing.

The higher frequency spectrum is dangerous to the birds’ memory leading to their death and known to have impacts on the human in the long run. A technician who spends most of his day near the mobile towers would be a real-time example to describe the impacts of continuous radiation.

Considering these points in our mind do we still expect a 5G network in India which is more powerful than 4G to be rated safe?

Will 5G Replace WiFi?

Maybe the 5G network in India and other countries would replace WiFi. From my view, it is because of the towers of 5G that will be placed in every street or in every other building to ensure that the network coverage is great. By that, every antenna might act as a hot spot zeroing the need for a WiFi.

Impacts Of a Powerful Spectrum

The speed of the 5G network in India might look great but the close placements of the towers might eventually lead to continuous exposure of the spectrum to humans. This will lead to major skin, eye and nervous system hazards.

Not just that, as they are weaker in bandwidth, human skin will absorb the emission quickly. This, in turn, can cause serious health issues including DNA damage in human blood cells. It is not just gonna affect the ones living closer, but also will irradiate to everyone who walks in the street regularly.

5G Network – Is It Something To Boast About?

Image Credit: Pixabay

Now let’s think over the whole new idea of 5G technology again. Didn’t a tiny thought of “Is it really required?” tickle your mind?

When we start inventing new technologies every day, we are paving the way to a much hazardous world not only for the humans but also for most of the living things to survive in.

Let us pause this fast booming world for some time and ponder whether we humans would survive for a reasonable duration with good health, to enjoy these luxurious technologies.

Many doctors and scientists have conducted various studies over the biological and health effects of the 5G spectrum to both environment and humans. Proposals to halt the deployment of a 5G network in India and other countries around the world until proper guidelines considering their impacts are still under discussion.

In the end, it is us who needs to decide on whether we need blazing speed at the expense of our own health. I am not against the reasonable speed limit. But at the same time, I am not very convinced on the highest speed limits as well at least until the 5G network in India and other parts of the world is proven safe by researches and studies.

References

httpss://interestingengineering.com/is-5g-harmful-for-humans-and-the-environment
httpss://www.vesttech.com/can-5g-internet-cause-more-health-problems/
httpss://www.altnews.in/will-birds-die-as-shown-in-2-0-indian-media-falls-for-fake-news-from-netherlands/