The National Communications Authority has debunked speculations that the evolution of fifth-generation (5G) technology is the explanation behind the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the NCA, there is completely no link between 5G technology and COVID-19.
The NCA urged the general public to ignore the deceptive movies and audios circulating on social media.
It defined that 5G is the following era of cellular expertise which has not but been deployed in Ghana.
Nevertheless, it guarantees considerably larger web information speeds, which can allow modern products and services in agriculture, transportation, training, health, safety and commerce.
“All generations of mobile cellular technology (1G, 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G) operate on radio frequencies (RF). These frequencies are not visible, but they exist in the atmosphere; they are what enable radio and television stations to transmit news and information to us. They generate non-ionising radiation which poses no harm to human beings”, it emphasised.
The NCA, as part of its consumer protection mandate, said it has established a Type Approval laboratory with test and measurement equipment for Radio Frequencies (RF), Electromagnetic Fields (EMF) and Specific Absorption Rate (SAR).
The laboratory undertakes measurements to ascertain the safety of mobile devices (phones, tablets, etc) and field measurements of radiations from mobile base stations at frequencies below 6GHz which is the range of frequencies for 2G, 3G and 4G in Ghana.
Future 5G deployments in Ghana, it stressed, will also utilise some frequencies below 6GHz, as well as higher frequencies and within safe limits.
The measurements taken by the NCA clearly indicate that the non-ionising radiations from mobile base stations are even more stringent and safer than those set by the International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), which is the international body responsible for safe use of non-ionising radiation.
Additionally, in 2019, the NCA contracted independent private agencies to audit all base station masts/towers in Ghana for structural integrity and to assess the level of radiations from all the sites. The audit reports confirmed that radiation levels are significantly lower than the ICNIRP reference levels.
The NCA assured most of the people that all mobile technologies are safe, and as a part of its regulatory mandate, the NCA in collaboration with the relevant state establishments will proceed to measure and examine compliance to the protection levels of RF publicity to make sure the safety of all customers of communication providers together with 5G (when it turns into accessible in Ghana) and future superior technologies.
The authority additional assured the general public that there’s completely no relationship between any cellular expertise and COVID-19.