Some residents of Moore Park are raising questions about the appearance of 5G cell phone transmitters on hydro poles in their neighborhood. The equipment was installed over the summer by Rogers Communications in an apparently unannounced arrangement with Toronto Hydro. The transmitters sit at a much lower height than the well-known roof-top towers which are now a common part of urban landscapes. One resident, Rani Jamieson, is a mother of three sons. She has written to Rogers, Mayor Tory and Ward 11 Councillor Mike Layton asking for the equipment to be removed.
Moore Park Residents Association to discuss
The Moore Park Residents Association has put the question on its agenda. Just how widespread the Rogers roll-out has been or is intended is not known, although there have been sightings of the equipment elsewhere. CBC science writer Marc Montgomery has written on the advocacy of Dr. Anthony Miller of the University of Toronto. Dr. Miller has long expressed concern about the long-term effects of communications radiation. The American Cancer Society has written about the 5G issue.
Fifth generation (5G) cellular networks are now being rolled out in many parts of the United States and in other countries. 5G networks are capable of transmitting much larger amounts of data over shorter periods of time than previous generations (4G, 3G, etc.).
Earlier generation networks have used RF wavelengths below 6 gigahertz (GHz). 5G networks will use some wavelengths in this range, but will also use some higher frequency wavelengths, at the lower end of the millimeter wave spectrum (which ranges from 30 GHz to 300 GHz). While these RF waves are higher frequency (higher energy) than those used by older generations, they are still forms of non-ionizing radiation, so they still lack the ability to directly damage DNA.
The higher frequency waves used by 5G travel shorter distances and don’t go through objects (such as buildings, or even tree leaves) as well as lower frequency waves. Because of this, 5G networks require many more, smaller versions of base stations (often referred to as small cells) in some places, especially in densely populated areas. These small cells can be mounted on streetlights, utility poles, buildings, and other structures. This could result in the antennas being closer to people, although small cells typically operate at much lower power levels than the larger (macro) base stations.
The addition of the higher wavelengths from 5G networks could also expose people to more RF waves overall.
At the same time, these higher frequency RF waves are less able to penetrate the body than lower frequency waves, so in theory they might be less likely to have any potential health effects. But so far this issue has not been well studied.
At this time, there has been very little research showing that the RF waves used in 5G networks are any more (or less) of a concern than the other RF wavelengths used in cellular communication.
