Online conspiracy theories have blamed 5G for everything from cancer to coronavirus, but they tend to fall apart at the slightest tap of actual facts. Low-band and mid-band 5G are based on radio frequencies that have been used for decades.
T-Mobile’s low-band 5G uses UHF TV bands, which have been in use since 1952. T-Mobile’s mid-band has been in use at least since 2007, parts of it mid-band were first used in 1963.
AT&T’s low-band 5G is on cellular frequencies used since 1983, and it is no more powerful than previous systems on those bands. Verizon and AT&T’s DSS systems are on existing 4G bands.
The C-band, which was just auctioned off to Verizon and AT&T, is a new band for wireless communication. But it’s important to see where it fits. At 3.7GHz, the C-band is sandwiched between the extremely popular, common 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi bands. It’s not going to have any effect on us that pervasive Wi-Fi networks don’t already have. And though conspiracy theorists tend to look askance at Wi-Fi, mainstream science says there’s no convincing evidence Wi-Fi has harmed us.
The World Health Organization says, “Any health effects of low-level electromagnetic fields if they exist at all, are likely to be very small compared to other health risks that people face in everyday life.”