5G is an advancement of mobile network technology, which promises to provide internet services 1000 times faster than the existing network speeds. The industry association 3GPP defines any system using the 5^th Generation New Radio Software as 5G. 5G is presumed to support one million devices per square kilometer in comparison to the 4Gs which support only one hundred thousand devices within the same area.

The industry insiders are of the opinion that 5G will provide 100 Gb bandwidth per second, therefore enabling the users to watch 4K videos without buffering troubles. 5G will have a latency period of only one millisecond, in comparison to the lousy 50 milliseconds latency of the 4G networks. Latency is the time gap for the network signal to transmit from the source device to the output device. With higher bandwidth, the network will support connecting tons of devices to a single port. A single router will be enough to provide hassle-free network experience to hundreds of devices.

With cutting edge technology, high bandwidth, lower latency 5G promises to bring telecom revolution in the coming years. With a host of smart cities growing around the world at a faster speed than ever before, 5G with its uncompromising network accuracy is supposed to bring forth better risk management, data processing, communication mobilization, and superior resource management.

Presently, only a few cell phones are offering 5G services. Chicago was the first in the world to carry out 5G experiments. Soon cities in UK and Australia followed. Surprisingly, the Netherlands is not yet in the list whereas you are finding the fake Facebook or WhatsApp memes of birds being killed by 5G radiations in the Netherlands!  Samsung Galaxy S10 5G is the leading player in the market. Moto Z, Oppo Reno 5G, LG V50 ThinQ, One Plus 7Pro 5G and Xiaomi MI Mix 3 5G are the only other products to exploit the wide market.  Currently, AT&T, Telstra, EE, Vodafone are the companies so far providing 5G Networks on a limited basis.

Even though the hoaxes around the social networks are not to be believed regarding the ill effects of 5G networks, the possibilities of health hazards associated with using the network cannot be ruled out. The network uses extremely high- frequency waves, from 30 GHz to 300 GHz. Because of such high frequencies, the waves remain limited within a limited zone and cannot travel wide areas like the 3G or 4G networks. This necessitates the installation of numerous source antennae to provide accessible networks to the customers. Even though the size of such antennae is minuscule in comparison to the existing mobile towers, considering the number of antennae required to run such a network, the hazards associated with 5G are to be taken seriously.

The network providers and the Governments are reluctant to make general people aware of the consequences of the network, considering the gigantic volume of revenue it is going to generate in the coming days. However,scientists all over the world have expressed their concern over this network using extremely high-frequency waves. Recently 215 eminent scientists from 40 countries signed a joint petition addressed to the United Nations for reducing the Electromagnetic Field Exposure (EMF) of the wireless networks. There have been wide researches speculating that a host variety of health ailments like DN –single and double-strand -break leading to cancer of several kinds, oxidative damage resulting in premature aging, severe headache, severe stress syndromes, impotency, stillbirth, etc.

With blazing fast speed, data processing and a variety of other benefits 5G is definitely the future. We cannot stay away from the technical advances in the years to come. But we need to shield ourselves from the hazards such technologies pose, too. The Government must come forward with strict legislation restricting the network providers to reduce the EMF. We must be selective of mobile phones and cut down the usage of cellular technology. Presently an average of 3 hours per person is spent all over the world over cellular phones. This must be brought down to a maximum of half an hour a day a person. As an immediate measure, there should be widespread protests halting the installation of the 5G network laying, till there are no proven records that 5G network will not cause significant health issues. The health of seven billion cannot be compromised for the profit-making of a few.