35 cities are now ready to receive 5G in Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The number of cities ready to receive the new 5G technology in the country grew from 28 to 35 in the space of a week – from Wednesday (23) of last week to this Wednesday (1).

These are cities with updated legislation and compliance with the new technology’s norms. The state with the most suitable cities is still Rio de Janeiro, with 16, according to data from the Brazilian Telecommunications Infrastructure Association (Abrintel).

To install 5G in the country’s various regions, the cities need to adapt to the General Law of Antennas, which establishes general guidelines for implementing telecom network infrastructure.

Rio de Janeiro is also where many cities discuss the law for implementing the new technology.

According to Abrintel, five capitals are ready to receive the necessary infrastructure from installing 5G (Rio de Janeiro, Florianópolis, Brasília, Porto Alegre, and Fortaleza). In the other 22, there is already some work to update the legislation.

Among the capitals that have not yet adapted, according to the entity, the most worrying are São Paulo, Belo Horizonte, and Goiânia.

The cities have not yet reached a consensus on the adequacy of their “antenna laws” to receive 5G. In Goiânia, the bill that discussed the matter was rejected, and the discussion went back to square one.

Anatel stipulated a maximum deadline of July 31, 2022, for operators to deploy 5G in the capital cities. However, according to Abrintel’s president, Luciano Stutz, it is necessary to have a minimum number of antennas for 5G to work correctly.

For him, installing the new antennas will not require significant effort, considering that many are about the size of a shoebox.

“5G will not only need large structures to be installed. It will not require many new infrastructure constructions because the antenna is smaller, and installation is faster. The installation will also be done in large structures, but most of it will take advantage of the large structures already installed for 4G”, he explained.

According to the 5G auction notice, Brazil currently has 103,000 communication antennas installed. According to a survey by Conexis Brasil Digital, 515,000 to 1 million new antennas would be necessary to reach the required level of coverage in the country.

According to Luciano Stutz, even though many cities still do not have the appropriate legislation for implementing the technology, the outlook for its arrival is positive.

“We feel optimistic because today we have a very different movement than in the past. The industry spent years discussing legislation with governments, but now everyone is making a joint effort to adapt to the norms and be ready to receive 5G,” concluded Abrintel’s president.

Last Tuesday (30), the president of the Rio de Janeiro City Council, councilman Carlo Caiado (DEM), signed the law that regulates the installation of antennas’ infrastructure for 5G technology, after the Council overturned the Mayor’s veto.

In practice, the new rules simplify the licensing process for installing small antennas and existing structures, which can help Rio move forward in adapting to the new mobile network technology.

BUSINESS IMPACTS OF 5G

The coming of 5G to Brazil has generated many expectations and questions about the practical impacts of the new network.

One of them, according to Petrobras, is the optimization of the performance of exploration and production processes in oil basins, which, according to the company’s director of Digital Transfer, Nicolás Simone, will add US$20 billion of value to operations by 2030.

Another expected impact is on energy generation in the country. According to Vanessa de Oliveira Vasconcellos, senior engineer of Smart Grid at Enel, 5G connections will make the electric power supply more robust since the high transmission rate will make the system much more reliable and allow the “restoration of power more quickly”.

These estimates were highlighted in the debate promoted by Firjan (Federation of Industries of the State of Rio de Janeiro), which took place on Monday (22) and attended by the companies mentioned. It is estimated that 5G technology will reach a download speed of 10 gigabits per second, ten times faster than the 4G network.

ADVERSE EVENTS OF 5G ON HEALTH

According to the World Health Organization (WHO)Trusted Source, there is limited research on the frequencies used in 5G. There is more research on the health effects of electromagnetic fields (EMFs) across the spectrum. However, the results are inconsistent.

To date, EMFs have been potentially associated with several problems:

TISSUE HEATING

A small 2017 study showed that mobile phones use frequencies of 1.8 to 2.2 GHz. These frequencies can cause tissue heating, according to WHO.

Tissue heating occurs when your skin absorbs electromagnetic energy. This causes a slight rise in temperature in your brain and body.

A 2021 study also found that people experience more EMF-related tissue heating as they get older. Plus, the higher the EMFs, the more they absorb. That’s because older individuals tend to have reduced skin thickness and blood flow.

However, tissue heating is considered by some to be short-term and minimal. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) also states that the public is exposed to very low frequencies of EMFs. These levels are too low to cause considerable tissue heating.

More research is necessary to determine how 5G specifically affects human tissue.

COGNITIVE FUNCTION

The effects of 5G exposure on cognitive function have not been studied yet.

There’s some research involving EMFs from other sources. In a small 2017 study, researchers examined how using a mobile phone affects cognitive function. The researchers found that using a mobile phone for at least 90 minutes a day is associated with attention difficulties.

A small 2018 research review found conflicting evidence. The researchers examined 43 studies regarding EMFs and cognitive function. They concluded that there is no solid link between EMFs and cognitive concerns.

CANCER

In 2011, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) stated EMFs are “possibly carcinogenic” to humans. The classification was determined by 30 scientists from 14 countries.

To date, most studies have examined the potential link between EMFs and brain cancer. But the results have been inconsistent.

For example, a 2017 research review found that EMF radiation from mobile phones is associated with glioma, a type of brain cancer. A 2018 study, on the other hand, did not find a clear association between high-frequency EMFs and brain tumors.

Again, more studies are needed to determine if 5G frequency can contribute to cancer development.

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