Do You Really Need 5G?

The 5G wireless network is rolling out across all the major vendors. Its going to be fast. For example, the current 4G network will allow you to download an average length movie in about 7 minutes. On 5G that same movie will download in about 7 seconds. Gaming, video calls, music and video streaming will all be similarly faster.

Looking out into the future, 5G is expected to begin to enable things such as 3D hologram calling, remote surgery, enhanced virtual reality apps and self driving cars. Cool stuff.

But you get nothing for nothing.

5G networks operate on very high frequencies. For those of you who remember your high school physics, this means, among other things, that things like walls and trees will be much more effective at blocking the signal than for the 4G network we have now. Signal range will be much, much shorter. It is forecast that the US alone will require about 800,000 new wireless antennas and cell towers to support 5G. To give that some perspective, in 2015, the US had a total of about 300,000 towers.

Meanwhile, the UN World Health Organization classifies this type of radiation as a "likely" carcinogen, citing evidence that long term exposure can lead to tumors in the brain. Sprint has already been required by the State of California to remove a 4G antenna erected in a local schoolyard after 4 students and 3 teachers developed a rare brain cancer. The US National Toxicology Program - considered the gold standard for this sort of testing - reports "clear evidence" of rare cancers and genetic damage from prolonged exposure to 2G and 3G radiation. 5G is very similar and far more intense due to the closer proximity to the emitters, making it much more dangerous.

But hey, a few brain tumors among our heavy-wireless-phone-using children is a small price to pay for being able to download a movie faster.

For myself, 85% of the time I am connected to a WiFi network. I can't imagine wasting time watching a movie on a 4" screen. I can get along without 5G perfectly well. But I won't have the choice. Either will you.