5G is often brought into connection with COVID-19, but what is really behind it?
To get closer to an answer, we naturally have to learn about and understand radio technology in general. There are enough critics and people who claim loudly that 5G is clearly causing COVID-19, but it is not that simple. And yet hardly any of these critics and protesters would give up their smartphone. Yes, even I would not, and I deal with electrical technology every single day and consider myself to understand significantly more about it than 95% of the rest of the population.
However, I also value privacy very highly and in 2017 I abandoned having a permanent connection to the mobile network through my smartphone via SIM card. This means that, at least while travelling, I have one less source of radiation than most people.
First, a basic overview of frequencies and the associated generations of mobile communications. A general frequency band list can be found on Wikipedia, which should be treated with caution.
| Generation | Type | Radio network | Frequency range |
| 1G | Analog | A to C network | 150 MHz – 470 MHz |
| 2G | Digital | D to E network/GSM | 800 MHz – 960 MHz |
| 3G | Digital | UMTS | 1800 MHz – 2200 MHz |
| 4G | Digital | LTE, LTE+ | 450 MHz – 5900 MHz |
| 5G | Digital | 900 MHz – 100 GHz |
Depending on the radio network technology/generation, different bandwidths within the overlapping overall frequency spectrum are naturally used for, for example, 2G, 3G, or 4G. Every country assigns different bandwidths for the individual mobile generations, otherwise one generation’s frequency would interfere too much with another generation. This is also why smartphones can usually understand a larger selection of frequencies, allowing you to cross a national border while still being able to connect to a network.
Everyone will have noticed that 5G goes as high as 100 GHz, which equals 100,000 MHz. 5G is more of an extreme collective term than a clearly defined boundary of a new mobile communications standard.
Clarification of the current situation and the frequencies currently in use.
If you have WLAN (WiFi) at home, then you are already being exposed to radiation. If you do not have it, then your neighbour certainly does. WiFi frequencies are generally 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz and are extremely widespread. Mobile communications from 2G to 4G have, in principle, not introduced new frequencies as a form of radiation. The new WiFi 6 standard (IEEE 802.11ax) not only offers increased data transmission and new WPA3 encryption, but also brings the 6 GHz range closer to our brains and therefore introduces somewhat newer radiation exposure for our physiology.
Let us take a closer look at 5G. As already shown in the overview, 5G does not provide meaningful information by itself, because it is simply a collective term for an enormously large frequency spectrum.
The clarification of the current situation is that in Switzerland, Germany, and Austria, only frequencies below 4 GHz have been and are currently being auctioned.
Germany. In Germany, the Federal Network Agency (Archive) has so far only assigned frequencies up to 3.7 GHz for mobile communications. And apparently, these frequencies should provisionally be sufficient for 5G mobile applications until 2040.
Austria. The Austrians are not really behaving differently in this regard. Here too, frequencies from 3.4 GHz to 3.8 GHz are being assigned.
Switzerland. The anti-5G movement had even caused international headlines. However, this did not change the outcome. At this point, I want to reassure everyone a little. In Switzerland as well, we are currently operating within a frequency range where we are already fundamentally exposed to radiation anyway. The BAKOM has assigned frequencies (Archive) up to 3.5 GHz in the auction.
Therefore, becoming overly outraged about being exposed to radiation in relation to 5G is not entirely justified. What is justified, however, is criticizing the fact that we do not yet know the health effects. There are hardly any long-term studies. We are only just beginning to understand what effects GSM has on the human body. For this, I can only recommend a lecture by Dr. Devra Davis at the University of Melbourne:
But there actually are dangers from 5G for humans.
They are microwaves. A microwave oven, incidentally, uses frequencies around 2 GHz so that food and liquids can be heated quickly. A very large amount of energy is supplied within a very short time so that this works. Mobile phone towers also use a large amount of energy so that they can transmit over long distances and reach enough devices. No technician will work on an active tower; otherwise, they would be cooked like in a microwave.
Generally speaking, radiation that we synthetically produce using electrical energy should be viewed critically. However, every frequency exists somewhere naturally. But there are reasons why medical personnel usually place themselves behind a thick reinforced concrete wall with an additional lead vest when they X-ray a patient. The shorter the wavelength of radiation, the more likely it is that it can damage, penetrate, burn human tissue, and even destroy DNA. Evolution, for example, does not occur without radiation, without changes in DNA, without manipulation, without mutations caused by cosmic radiation. Living organisms have adapted. But this happened over a very long period of time. As humans, we have exposed ourselves to massive additional radiation within a period of less than 30 years. The exact consequences of this, as already mentioned, have not yet been determined.
And the higher the frequency, meaning the shorter the wavelength becomes as a result, the more energy must be supplied so that the wave can travel through space. This is why, with a large antenna and relatively low energy input, one can receive radio stations that are very far away, because these frequencies are often in the low MHz range or even in the kHz range.
However, 5G is supposed to be made appealing to us in every possible way. Higher internet speeds and processing of larger amounts of data. Being able to connect more devices with each other (Internet of Things). And of course, self-driving cars connected to an AI so that they can react in real time in the ‚Cloud‘, naturally for your safety.
The internet speed and higher data volumes are just an illusion, because 4G/LTE+ would technologically be completely sufficient for consumers without any problems.
The actual danger for us with 5G is that, first of all, perhaps harmless frequencies are approved, the concept of 5G then becomes established in people’s minds as being harmless, and afterwards higher and higher frequencies can gradually be used.
And this is about absolute control.
In order for the higher 5G frequencies above 10 GHz to really make sense, massively more energy or an enormous number of towers are required to cover a larger area. And we need this coverage, so we will be told, so that everything remains connected and secure. From your smartwatch, to your smart clothing, your smart light bulb and your smart toilet seat, all the way to autonomous vehicles that decide for you how freely you are allowed to drive. Artificial intelligence plays an enormous role in this.
But that is only one aspect. One could say: I escape this permanent control by simply not purchasing such devices and cars. However, the large number of nearby antennas in a future 5G network would make it possible, simply by transmitting waves, to create a 3D image with incredible detail. You have to imagine it like the echolocation of a bat or like radar, simply using a different frequency and with extreme resolution. The signal bounces off objects and is reflected back, allowing a three-dimensional image to be created. This means that in the future, even without cameras, all people could be tracked in real time. Regardless of whether it is daylight or darkness, the same consistent image is always obtained. Privacy would no longer exist.
So that everyone can get an idea of what is meant here, this is a visually cinematic depiction from the film The Dark Knight:
5G would make it possible to provide crystal-clear, perhaps even color real-time videos based on a database of material properties and how signals are reflected. Depending on the amount of collected data, it could also become possible to recognize the smallest skin pore or a single hair sticking out from the chin, zoom in on it, and view it from any perspective.
Anyone who then covers their walls with a special wallpaper in the future would make themselves suspicious. Anyone who buys clothing with high-frequency-resistant fibers would make themselves suspicious.
5G and COVID 19
Nevertheless, it must be observed whether already existing 5G frequencies are connected in some way.
Most people will probably remember one image or another from Northern Italy, showing how supposedly terrible the situation was there. Completely disregarding the fact that the healthcare system in the one or two hospitals that are repeatedly shown had already been overloaded during flu seasons in previous years, and that the air quality in Northern Italy is not the healthiest. An observation and investigation should take place to determine whether 5G may have contributed to increased breathing problems among elderly people in Northern Italy. Turin (Archive) and Milan, but especially Turin, were presumably the first European city with complete 5G network coverage, meaning a 5G pilot project. Milan followed directly afterwards. Both were fully underway at the end of December 2019.
Wuhan, yes that Wuhan, was the first city in China with complete (Archive) 5G network coverage. Allegedly even the first in the world.
What should be noted in both cases mentioned here is the timing of the reports. The last day of October 2019 in China, where the first case of COVID-19 is said to have been discovered in mid-November 2019.
Unfortunately, I was unable to find out which frequencies Turin and Wuhan were experimenting with as pilot cities.
However, in Italy there were auctions of frequencies up to 26 GHz. Considering that Turin was a test city for 5G, one can assume that at least up to 26 GHz was tested.
And the hotspots with the first outbreaks in Italy were supposedly Turin and Milan. Therefore, a direct connection should at least be investigated.
However, COVID-19 is connected with 5G in the sense that COVID-19 is being used as a pretext to push 5G forward. This is already evident because surveillance-state mechanisms demand the ability to track everything and everyone in real time. Regardless of how few people actually die from COVID-19, if any at all, the tracking and construction of such surveillance systems is already fully underway. Whether it is an RFID chip in the body, a chip card, or simply via a smartphone app. We will be told that contact tracing during a new outbreak of a virus is unavoidable and can only be solved this way. This is a ridiculous pretext and has only one purpose: every person should be traceable, identifiable, and of course fully controllable at all times.
My next article will focus precisely on why the measures and preparations are the way they currently are.
This article was translated from German using AI assistance.