Author’s note: This article is the first in a three-part series on the move to 5G wireless, the implications, and potential problems. You can read part 2 here and part 3 here.
Author- Jim Jensen
Part 1 | Inconveniences and Protocols
If you’re the type of person who rolls their eyes at conspiracy theories, you might as well stop reading now. This article is going to explore the dark side of 5G and believe me, it’s going to get way out there.
We’re not going to include much about the benefits of 5G. The communications service providers have that covered. If you search 5G or nanotechnology or graphene on the Internet, you’ll be hailed with all manner of glowing accolades about the benefits, and how amazing everything is going to be in the future.
What isn’t front and center is the downsides to this new technology that is rolling out full speed ahead with unequivocal support from Big Tech, Big Government, and Big Antennas. The list of 5G issues range, like the waves of the electromagnetic spectrum, from minor inconveniences to a global cult seizing control of humanity. There will be no discussion on the merits of these concerns and theories. It is up to the reader to decide how far down the rabbit hole you are willing to go. The goal of this review is to raise awareness.
But there is this one take away: if any fraction of what is presented here is true, we (as in the world population) are in dangerous territory. The sooner people are alerted to the risks, the better chance we’ll have at survival as a species.
The Holy Trinity of Wireless
If you are at all paying attention, you can’t help but notice the controversies surrounding 5G. For years, they have been growing in intensity, and drawing scorn and ridicule. Most of us probably hope they are being put forward by whacky environmentalists who didn’t like the skyline being marred by antennas.
It seems like it’s going to be very difficult to get people to pay attention to 5G issues because most people worship at the altar of the Holy Trinity of Wireless: Capacity, Coverage, and Quality. Capacity means moving huge amounts of data effortlessly through the air. Who wants a limited data plan? Coverage means watching Tik Tok videos from Glacier National Park. Quality means finally forgetting about the 2004 Verizon commercial. Can you hear me now?
When the 5G infrastructure is in place, the promise is that the Internet of Everything will be without limits. Wonder what the new 6G plan is all about?
What is 5G?
We need to digress for a moment to define our terms. The acronym ”5G” gets bandied about like a volleyball and can mean several different things. But technically, it refers to the “fifth generation” of wireless technology. Engineers have demonstrated that shorter wavelengths, like microwaves, can carry much larger quantities of data than the longer wavelengths like radio waves. But there are tradeoffs.
Longer wavelengths can travel through walls and buildings easily. Shorter wavelengths don’t. So, they are going to require a lot more lift from higher powered commercial small cell (base stations) with antennas for beamforming.
Image source: Android Authority
Shorter wavelengths can carry more data, but the shorter the wavelength, the closer it comes to being ionizing radiation like x-rays. Ionizing radiation can strip electrons off atoms. This is bad news for living organisms. (Think Chernobyl.) When atoms in living cells become ionized one of three things usually happens – the cell dies, the cell repairs itself, or the cell mutates incorrectly and can become cancerous.
To be fair, the section of the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum that is being considered for 5G is nowhere near gamma rays, but it is moving slowly up the scale in that direction.
According to Mutaz Shukair, Staff Product Manager at Qualcomm, 5G relies on two key technologies: massive MIMO and beamforming. MIMO (multiple input multiple output) has been around for years, but now it’s going “massive,” which means large numbers of antennas in the wireless arrays.
Beamforming is like the difference between shining a flashlight at someone, which lights up the whole room, and pointing a laser at them. “Complex MIMO algorithms come into play,” he says, “to control how data maps into antennas and where to focus energy in space.”
It’s comforting to know that with “3D beamforming” we are constantly tracked by multiple, horizontal, and vertical, laser-like signals wherever we go in a 5G network.
Issues with 5G
Following is a discussion of several of the concerns people around the world have raised concerning 5G and its rapid rollout and adoption. These concerns are arranged by degree of alarm. Beginning with the most believable, least concerning, the topics work their way into the more fantastic and mind-blowing conjectures and theories. The purpose is to present the available data and testimony and let the reader decide whether the 5G rollout is a concern.
Lack of Studies on the Effects of 5G Radiation on Humans
Let’s begin with what we don’t know.
In July 2021, a report was made to the European Parliament called “Health impact of 5G.” In the report, they broke the research down into two categories of wavelengths. The first category, called FR1, included wavelengths in the 450 to 6,000 MHz range, that is, what is currently being used for 4G. The second category, FR2, included wavelengths in the 24 to 100 GHz range, or what is being proposed for use with future 5G technologies.
Conclusion? Radiation in the FR1 range is “probably carcinogenic for humans” and “clearly affect male fertility and possibly female fertility.” Additionally, it was found that FR1 waves “may have possible adverse effects on the development of embryos, fetuses’, and newborns.”
OK, that was for 4G. What about 5G?
For cancer, “no adequate studies were performed on the higher frequencies” and for reproductive developmental effects, “no adequate studies on 24 to 100 GHz.”
In a March of 2020 interview with London Real, David Icke noted that American tech industry witnesses have testified on Capitol Hill under the interrogation of the United State Senate that they had done “no testing with 5G on human health.” Why would they? Should they learn about any harmful effects, they would then be liable.
Mark Steele has some impressive credentials. The CTO of Reevu (HUD) Head Up Display Company, he is a British engineer, inventor, patent writer and weapons research scientist. He has a materials science background and is the inventor of, among other things, the world’s first binocular optical wave guides and infrared thermal imaging head up display. He has earned notoriety by publishing his concerns about 5G in which he exposes that we “lack any credible evidence that the 5G light-emitting diode (LED) network and planned neural connection to the 5G grid are safe.”
Steele also notes in the same publication that International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) “guideline radiation values apply only to single antenna device emitters, and do not take into account the massive increase and multiplication of radiation emission devices proposed across all cities and town for the 5G network.”
ICNIRP is supposed to help protect us, but it seems, so far, they have not finished their homework. In fact, in the Radiation Safety Journal called Health Physics, an analysis of the 2020 ICNIRP guidelines was published that concluded that (1) there may be “limitations to our knowledge” that could affect exposure guidelines, and (2) the hypothesis about an EMF increase due to pencil beamforming is “yet to be scientifically (and widely) refuted.”
Perhaps this failure on the part of the regulatory agencies charged with overseeing this new technology is part of what led to the lawsuit by the Children’s Health Defense against the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for failing to protect children against adverse effects of non-ionizing radiation. The lawsuit cites ignorance of studies and the fact that issues from EMF have been well-documented since at least 1932.
The reality is that there have been over 1,600 peer-reviewed scientific papers on electromagnetic fields (EF) and biology or health. Over 600 of those papers reported effects from exposure to radiation. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified radiofrequency (RF) EMF as ‘possibly carcinogenic to humans’ (Group 2B) and recently recommended RF exposure for re-evaluation ‘with high priority’ (IARC, 2019) to the European Parliament.
But, thankfully, the pinnacle of global health, the World Health Organization (WHO), in a reversal of their 2011 position which classified it as a group 2B carcinogen, now states on their website that “to date, and after much research performed, no adverse health effect has been causally linked with exposure to wireless technologies.” That’s settled science then.
Disregard for Existing Safety Guidelines
What we see is that politicians, blinded by the dollar signs in their eyes, are moving heaven and earth to make way for 5G. To them, timidly and judiciously rolling out 5G is not an option. It’s all about competition with foreign countries, keeping up with the Jones’, and protecting America’s “national security.”
So, we are going forward with plans as quickly as possible. This is being done without regard to any potential hazards.
Dr. Barrie Trower also has impressive credentials. He was trained at the Government (Ministry of Defense) microwave warfare establishment early in the 1960s covering all aspects of microwave (MW) radiation technology uses and health dangers. He has a degree in Physics, a specialization in microwaves, and a teaching diploma in human physiology. Before retiring, he taught advanced physics and mathematics at South Dartmoor College.
In a 2011 affidavit in the District Court of Oregon, Trower declared that US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) documents confirmed that the Naval Medical Research Institute (NMRI) stated: “If the more advanced nations of the West are strict in enforcement of stringent exposure standards, there could be unfavorable effects on industrial output and military functions.”
It’s easy to see that the well-being of the population is not secondary concern of the military-industrial-complex. The “safety” guidelines are put in place more to protect industry than our health.
According to a graphic published by ES-UK, radio frequency radiation (RFR) safety limits in the UK are based on the theory that the only adverse effects of RFR is heating. Therefore, the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) has set UK RFR safety limits at 10x the levels allowed by China, 100x that of Switzerland. Apparently ICNIRP isn’t watching out for us either.
Research has shown the biological effects of radiation begin at about 5 microwatts per square meter (mW/m2). Harm can begin at 10 mW/m2. We have video of a man with a device capable of measuring EM pulses coming from a 5G communications tower. Just walking in proximity to the tower, you can see the meter reaching 1000 mW/m2. Of course, he was very close to the tower, but for 5G to work, towers and antennas must proliferate the landscape.
What about the United Nations? Do they have our back?
In her 2018 testimony to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, putting him on notice about the dangers of 5G and the 2015 wireless upgrades in the Vienna International Center, Claire Edwards, noted that staff have been constantly exposed to radiation 1 quintillion times the natural background EMR levels. She also testified that coming 5G enhancements would increase the radiation levels 100-fold. Guterres claimed ignorance. Worse, he joked that he put the same devices in his house. He said on video he had no idea what Edwards was referring to and would have to have a committee “look into it.”
There is a lot of concern that the very agencies that are in place to protect the population from industrial harm like this have been compromised by the industry they are supposed to monitor. In her testimony, Edwards referred to a 2015 report by Norm Alster, published by the Harvard Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics. His 60-page report is titled “Captured Agency – How the Federal Communications Commission Is Dominated By the Industries It Presumably Regulates.” Doesn’t sound like we can count on the FCC for unbiased safety guidelines either.
Mark Steele, in his “Expert Report on Fifth Generation (5G) Directed Energy Radiation Emissions” notes that even ICNIRP is “widely acknowledged to be a captured agency, as confirmed by the Italian courts.” He also found that the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) determined that ICNIRP guidelines focus on short-term risks only, not long‐term exposures to weak RFR. This even though “a large and growing amount of evidence indicates that long‐term exposure to weak fields can affect biological systems and might have effects on human health.”
He testified that “the overwhelming majority of published, peer-reviewed scientific studies in biomedical research database PubMed, indicate significant health risks with RFR of the type used in 5G technologies both near field in the home and far-field in antennae, whether on access points or masts.”
Of course, the minority view is led by a group of 13 influential scientists from the ICNIRP. It probably goes without saying that these scientists are commission members who “have strong links with the telecommunications industry” and hold key roles in the WHO, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), and the EU’s Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR), according to Steele.
To add one more agency to the growing list of governmental and non-government organizations that appear to be looking the other way, Airbus America and Boeing bosses, Jeff Knittel and David Calhoun, have co-signed a letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg detailing their concerns over the implementation of 5G in the United States because of the dangers of interfering with navigation and landing protocols for the passenger aircraft they are producing. So much for the US DOT.
In some cities around the world, we are already passing radiation levels considered unsafe by many researchers. The agencies that are in place to watch over this kind of danger to the public seem to be either captured, in cahoots, or ignorant of the dangers. The guidelines we have are being ignored, but it appears they are insufficient anyway.
Massive Number of Antennas
Palm Beach is a beautiful, exclusive community in Florida. It’s so nice, President Donald Trump and billionaire Bill Gates have residences there. Recently, the city council rejected the idea of installing 5G in the community. They said this is because they didn’t want ugly antennas marring the luxurious skyline. Some people find it oddly suspicious that the elite are being shielded from some of the bad effects of 5G implementation.
Here’s why Palm Beach is resisting. 5G wireless technology employs millimeter waves for the first time, in addition to microwaves that have been in use for years with older cellular technologies, 2G through 4G. Millimeter waves, also known as the millimeter band, is the band of the EM spectrum with wavelengths between 10 millimeters (30 GHz) and 1 millimeter (300 GHz).
There is one major drawback to millimeter waves, though—they can’t easily travel through buildings or obstacles and can be absorbed by foliage and rain. Given their limited reach, 5G will require cell antennas every 100 to 200 meters. It is estimated we will need one tower for every 12 homes in the future.
To accomplish this, many jurisdictions are granting permission to wireless companies to fit light posts with 5G antennas. This is a convenient method of propagating antennas: light posts are tall, have power, and are already placed throughout the community. This will expose many people to millimeter wave radiation and make it impossible to avoid overexposure.
Rushed 5G Rollout Without Study or Knowledge of Residents
In the UK, we see an aggressive rollout. Entire cities are being fitted with 5G by modifying the streetlights to broadcast 5G signals. We see surreptitious video of residents in city council meetings complaining about these modifications. Why were we not informed about this? Why was there no discussion or debate? Who authorized this? What studies were done on the long-term effects? Who is paying for this? Many questions. Not a lot of answers.
Dr. Carrie Madej, an osteopathic physician who has retired from her practice, now dedicates her time to watching out for humanity has made several videos about the 5G rollout. She accuses a number of city councils of allowing light posts to be modified and fitted with LED incapacitors.
An LED incapacitor is a non-lethal weapon intended as a means of protection for law enforcement officials such as police and border patrols. The light emitted is capable of rendering opponents temporarily blind so that they can be subdued more easily.
Madej’s research is supported by the video testimony of an electrician who disassembled one of the lights in Ireland and exposed the contents, including a capacitor and blue, light-emitting diodes (LED) without a diffuser. Ask yourself why so many streetlights are being retrofitted with undiffused LEDs.
A capacitor is an electronic device which stores up voltage so that it can be released all at once. Professional camera flashes have capacitors which create the extremely bright light needed for photography when they are discharged. No one is sure why that is needed yet.
Madej highlights how city councils, without any extra budget, are spending millions on a rush-out of these new lights. As an example, she cites a £2 billion contract Sheffield City made with EME to upgrade the streetlights in that South Yorkshire town.
It’s not just the UK facing these problems. 2017 was a busy year for the FCC in the United States. They were extremely prolific in their efforts to open the door and push 5G through.
During that year they confirmed the “Accelerating Wireline Broadband Deployment by Removing Barriers to Infrastructure Investment” order which helps carriers transition to high-speed wireless infrastructure more quickly. They complemented that with the “Restoring Internet Freedom” order which removes utility-like regulations adopted under the Obama Administration. It encourages competition and allows more unrestrained development of technology and infrastructure for broadband wireless.
In the same year, they put forward “Business Data Services in an Internet Protocol Environment,” which removes pricing regulation to improve innovation and investment in business data services. While we could argue that these moves are prudent from an economic perspective, it’s the urgency with which they are acting that raises concern. When have you ever seen a bloated government agency proactively lead the way for the introduction of a new technology?
In 2018, the FCC notified the public that one of their purposes was “national defense and promoting safety of life and property through the use of wire and radio communication.” We thought national defense was the purview of the Armed Forces. Has the FCC been militarized while we weren’t looking?
Many local leaders believe they are going too far. On September 27, 2018, the FCC adopted a report and order and declaratory ruling purporting to streamline the deployment of wireless facilities by pre-empting local government authority. This triggered a massive lawsuit in 2019. Dozens of cities in the United States signed onto the suit to fight this overreach. Named as respondents in the lawsuit are the FCC, Sprint, Verizon, AT&T, and the American Public Power Association, to name a few.
In 2019, the FCC inaugurated the “5G Fast Plan.” The FCC is pursuing a comprehensive plan to facilitate America’s superiority in 5G tech. Part of the strategy is the immediate auctioning off the 28-47 GHz bands of the electromagnetic spectrum. Soon additional bands will be auctioned off up to the 95 GHz wavelength.
The US Senate record of March 2020 defines the Internet of Things and describes its benefits. The FCC led with the “Secure 5G and Beyond Act of 2020,” which requires the president to develop a strategy to ensure the security of next-gen mobile telecommunications systems and to assist our foreign allies in the same.
The “Secure 5G and Beyond Act” was passed to ensure the security of 5G deployment in the United States to aid our allies in their development and deployment of 5G. The Act makes it clear that the strategy “shall be a whole of government approach.” It gives the sense it is more of a military initiative than anything else.
Why does this Act involve on a commission the Department of National Intelligence, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Energy, the Attorney General, Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense as key parties of interest if 5G is simply a communications infrastructure?
This problem is close to home as well. Utah State Code contains the “Small Wireless Facilities Deployment Act of 2018” which paves the way for wireless facilities providers to deploy within the bounds of the law. AT&T took advantage of this and invested $181 million in wireless technology in Utah in a 4-year timespan. With that, they made 443 wireless network “upgrades” in 2018.
Look into POWDER, the Platform for Open Wireless Data-driven Experimental Research. This is a $100 million public/private partnership between the University of Utah and the military to turn Salt Lake City into a city-scale “living lab” (their words) and make it a testbed to enable mobile and wireless research. Why not turn your city into a living laboratory? Hard pass.
And in 2021, the Utah Inland Port Authority announced their intention to deploy AI and 5G to facilitate their supply chain network. If you are wondering what the UIPA is and how they have so much money and authority, we recommend you get caught up by reading about it here.
It’s nearly impossible for the average citizen to keep up with all the stealth projects and moving parts, let alone do anything to slow it down. But the first step is to become aware of the potential effects of 5G technology and decide for yourself how to proceed.