Let’s face it: the human race has become entirely dependent on our various internet devices. My days recently have consisted of going on my smart phone to read the news, going on my laptop to do schoolwork and “attend class”, watching Netflix on my smart TV, going for a run and tracking it with my Apple watch, playing online video games, and drinking the occasional at-home-happy-hour beer (note: not internet-related). I will be the first to admit, I would be lost without a fast, reliable internet connection, both at home and on the go. To situate this a little closer to home, this year at Allard, you will not be able to take your exams without an internet connection.
The future depends on connectivity, and specifically, high-speed, always-on internet connections. To keep up with the explosion of the “internet of things”, the mobile industry has been working on rolling out ultra-fast 5G networks. The promise is that, eventually, 5G will bring speeds of around 10 gigabytes per second to your phone, which is approximately 600 times faster than the typical 4G speeds on today’s phones and 10 times faster than most home internet connections.
In the US, the four main carriers now offer 5G connectivity, but they are mainly available in major US cities, such as Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Dallas. Similarly, in the UK, 5G networks have reached cities and townships but have not blanketed the majority of the country. Countries like Australia, South Korea, Switzerland and China have also rolled out 5G networks.
However, the first 5G networks won’t be nearly so fast, and arguably, 5G is still in its nascent stages despite being offered in many countries around the world. There are a number of barriers to implementing 5G on a large scale, such as the lack of availability or understanding of radio frequencies to deliver 5G services, the lack of phones that can support 5G and the lack of infrastructure to support the new 5G network. In sum, the world is still running in 4G, which makes it difficult to upgrade to 5G all at once. This means that mobile networks that may deliver the fastest 5G networks won’t be widely available for years.
This seemingly innocuous story takes an odd turn, however. Recently, a conspiracy theory has been circulating that says 5G networks caused COVID-19. These theories have spread on social media and claim that COVID-19 is actually due to the effects of radiation from 5G networks. This is partially due to the fact that 5G networks were introduced in China in November 2019, where shortly thereafter, a novel coronavirus was discovered. In the most strange turn of events, the 5G-COVID 19 conspiracy theory may be the cause of recent arson attacks against UK 5G phone towers (https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/apr/04/uk-phone-masts-attacked-amid-5g-coronavirus-conspiracy-theory). This conspiracy theory has been rebutted as ridiculous by scientists and fact-checkers alike, who claim that it “is straight from the most dangerous depths of tin foil hat land”. What can be definitively stated is that 5G does not cause or spread a virus.
5G networks have also come under fire due to health concerns, which posit that since 5G networks run on high-frequency radio waves, they can produce harmful radiation leading to brain cancer, reduced fertility and other illnesses. The FDA and FCC have said that there is nothing to worry about as studies haven’t found a link between radio frequency from cellphones or cell towers and disease.
The COVID-19 conspiracy theory and 5G health concerns highlight one of the major themes that has been discussed throughout the term. Namely, the above theories show that social media is a place where misinformation runs rampant, and fake news influences people in a real way. According to FDA, the FCC, the WHO and other international agencies, there is nothing to worry about with respect to 5G, and certainly no need to worry that it caused COVID-19. However, this has not stopped the spread of these ideas on social media. This highlights another major theme in the course, which is the inability of private corporations and government entities to stop the spread of fake news. So, here is a friendly reminder to not believe everything that you read on the internet, and to try your best to curb the spread of misinformation.
This post is based on the following articles:
https://www.wired.com/story/wired-guide-5g/
https://www.wired.com/story/slow-rollout-super-fast-5g/
https://www.cnet.com/news/no-5g-didnt-cause-the-coronavirus-pandemic/
This coupled with the conspiracy theories about the Illuminati causing this outbreak for population control. People have a lot of time on their hands now to come up with whatever they can.