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As the telecommunications industry gears up to roll out 5G networks locally, there has sprouted a spike in public concerns about its safety.
These have peaked with the geographic spread of Covid-19 infections globally as conspiracy theorists fuel fear and antipathy against the nascent technology by linking it to the pandemic.
They base their argument on the fact that Wuhan, from where the disease emanated, was the first city in China to deploy a 5G network.
But they miss to point out that Wuhan was one of the 16 Chinese cities to debut 5G. Interestingly, none of the other cities have reported abnormally high incidences of the virus.
China launched the world’s largest 5G network in October; several firms in South Korea, UK, Germany and the US rolled out commercial 5G, some on a trial basis, in late 2018.
There is a claim that 5G damages the immune system, leaving affected individuals highly exposed to the disease.
Other social media accounts allege that 5G mobile networks are being deployed in high-frequency bands of up to 60 GHz, causing ionisation of the oxygen molecules in the air.
This allegedly splits the molecules into two atoms, which then deprive the human body of oxygen, causing instant death.
These accounts are unfounded as no country has deployed 5G in that frequency. Indeed, most 5G networks are in the 2.6 and 3.5 GHz bands, for which Kenya plans to also launch 5G trials.
Other accounts attribute Covid-19 to viruses excreted from dying human cells whose cause of death is 5G radiation.
Clearly, the claims are spurious and without merit. The epidemic has hit many countries, including Kenya, that are yet to deploy 5G.
As would be expected, the theories have triggered increased local consumer and public interest and anxiety on the safety of 5G, a technology that is billed to positively transform all aspects of life, including healthcare, agriculture, manufacturing and other sectors of the economy.
The Kenya Nuclear Regulatory Authority (KNRA) is vested with the responsibility of exercising oversight on non-ionising radiation in the country under the revised legislation issued last year.
It is preparing to enact regulations outlining the allowable non-iodising radiation levels. Radiation from 5G and other preceding technologies are non-ionising.
Nonetheless, Kenyans should find comfort in the fact that, after seven years of research, the International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) released 2020 guidelines on limiting exposure to electromagnetic fields, including 5G.
According to the ICNIRP, the main effect of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields on the human body is increased temperature of exposed tissue.
The body effortlessly handles small increases to temperature, including those caused by exercising. As long as the increase in temperature of the tissues is within the thresholds, there are no risks to health.
The overall levels of 5G radiation are low and well below international safety guidelines. There is no evidence that 5G can damage the immune system.
Indeed, the World Health Organisation (WHO) says no research has linked exposure to wireless technology with negative health effects. The WHO gives regular updates on this subject and is set to release more research findings in 2022.
All mobile communications technologies, from 1G to 4G, have had their fair share of detractors and critics. But experience has served to prove the doomsayers wrong.
Large-scale adoption of 5G, the fifth generation of wireless communications technologies supporting cellular data networks, began last year and virtually every telco in the developed world has embraced it.
Delivering superfast, low-latency and high-capacity internet, it is touted as a game changer. It will support innovative applications such as artificial intelligence, smart cities, driverless cars, machine-to-machine learning and internet of everything and pave the way for the Fourth Industrial Revolution and increased economic productivity.
We should not allow detractors to scare us from this transformative technology.
Mrs Wanjau is the acting director-general, Communications Authority of Kenya (CA). @CADirectorGen
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