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For the umpteenth time, telecommunications operators have dismissed the connection of wireless technologies with the widespread radiation across the globe.
They, rather, contended that home appliances were more anti-health owing to their alleged high radio activeness.
The Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) noted that contrary to reports, there was no scientific evidence whatsoever supporting any nexus between the spread of COVID-19 and 5G or electromagnetic waves.
Its chairman and Head of Operations, Gbenga Adebayo and Gbolahan Awonuga, cited a seven-year scientific study published last month, which claimed that 5G had no detrimental health effects generally.
The telecoms firms stressed that it had become important to dismiss public health concerns relating to telecommunications cell towers.
“In these unprecedented times, there is a need to ensure the resilience of telecommunications networks to support the delivery of vital health services and sustained economic recovery,” he said.
The body stressed that digital connectivity had become essential to the social and economic development of the 21st-century technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), 5G networks and the Internet of Things (IoT) that generate great opportunities but also raise questions for businesses and citizens.
One of these concerns, according to them, is public health.
ALTON noted: “In recent years, questions about health and safety concerning electromagnetic frequencies produced by telecommunication towers have been raised: What are the health implications of this proliferation of antennas and the frequencies they emit? What effects do they have on humans and animals? Can they cause any disorder?
“Public exposure to these frequencies is not new. On the contrary, these radio signals are nearly omnipresent, as they have been produced by electric currents or telecommunication antennas for decades. The average household deploys various sources of these signals such as home appliances (microwaves, TVs, refrigerators) or Internet connections repeatedly throughout the day.
“According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the low intensity of cell site emissions is estimated to be between 0.002 per cent and two per cent of the levels of safe exposure and is lower than those produced by a radio or TV transmission. Studies carried out by WHO and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) agree that there are no health risks related to radio signals.”
The operators added that the next generation of mobile technology, 5G, raises concern over the increased deployment of towers.
According to them, “by using small cells or low-power and low-range transmissions, 5G smart antennas send signals where required, as these cells enable localised use of signals while increasing coverage and efficiency.
The telecoms firms noted that the unanimous conclusion of international public health organisations and more than 25,000 articles on biological and health effects reaffirm the safe use of wireless technologies such as telecommunications antennas necessary for connectivity as well as well as social and economic development.
Alluding to WHO and the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), ALTON noted:” Coronaviruses are zoonotic, meaning they are transmitted between animals and people. Detailed investigations found that SARS-CoV was transmitted from civet cats to humans and MERS-CoV from dromedary camels to humans. Several known coronaviruses are circulating in animals that have not yet infected humans.”