We've all heard about 5G in the news, how it's coming, how it will be a huge advance in technology and how it will bring about big changes in how we connect with the world and each other. It sounds so great and it's all the buzz about how it will bring about great changes in our lives. But is this a good thing or another assault on our privacy and health?

When we look at 5G we see that the term means different things depending on the carrier. Verizon has 5G that is very fast with download speeds up to one gigabyte per second. That's an incredible ten times faster than most wi-fi connections. However, the coverage so far is spotty and you can't count on maintaining the fast connection on the street and it's virtually non-existent in the home. Again 5G as it is being used right now can't travel very far and is blocked by walls and foliage so in order to achieve a city-wide roll out there would need to be nodes for coverage on every block. Verizon plans to turn on a low-band 5G network to increase coverage but the speeds won't be much faster than a regular LTE phone used today. 

AT&T and T-Mobile's low-band networks are in the 600 megahertz and 850 megahertz bands, effectively the same area of spectrum as existing LTE however, they're new bands of spectrum that aren't already clogged up with existing customers. These use new transmission technologies which means that these low-band 5G networks can offer faster speeds than LTE even though they're basically using the same spectrum bands as LTE. They can transmit over a much wider range than other types of 5G and that's why T-Mobile can claim to have nationwide 5G coverage. 

T-Mobile now owns Sprint and these use mid-band 5G located at the 2.5 gigahertz range of the spectrum. This is faster than low-band 5G, about the same area of the electromagnetic spectrum as your home wifi. Midband is higher frequency and more bandwidth than low-band 5G, however it's far slower than millimeter wave, which is the ultra-fast 5G.

What we are calling millimeter wave is at about 30 gigahertz, much higher frequency than any other types of 5G and offers blazing fast speeds. These are being used by Verizon and in limited areas, T-Mobile, and AT&T. These radio waves are between one and 10 millimeters in wavelength and do not pass through objects like walls or buildings easily which means that the range is very limited.

The changes in the usage of bandwidth are interesting but only part of the story. Other improvements in 5G, come from new transmission technology and techniques to improve connectivity. Carrier aggregation combines multiple LTE bands into one data stream for faster speeds, and MIMO antennas, or multiple inputs multiple outputs, use antenna arrays, made up of lots of little antennas stationed at intervals for improved connectivity.

What is Wi-fi?

Nicola Tesla first described the use of wireless transmission of energy in the late 1800's and went on to invent numerous applications of the idea. Today our world is connected through the use of the many wireless devices we have become accustomed to. The incredible change this has brought us is not without it's dangers however. The electromagnetic force that is radiating from these sources has been identified as a hazard and the exposure continues to grow with the ever increasing use of wireless sources. Wi-fi in particular has become a problem for a growing percentage of the population that are "electromagnetic hypersensitive. This article from the Science in Society website discusses some of the problems with Wi-fi.

Wireless explosion out of control

There are now more than 250 000 public hotspots for wi-fi worldwide [2]. Wi-fi is available in millions of homes, corporations, and university campuses. According to one estimate, wi-fi use has increased 74 percent in Europe and 75 percent in the UK between the first and second half of 2006 [3]. Birmingham is to have Britain's first city wide wireless communication by early 2007, and Manchester is planning the largest European wi-fi zone covering 400 square miles. Norwich and Milton Keynes already have wi-fi, and Brighton is set to follow [4]. Most worrying of all, wi-fi has been installed in up to 80 percent of secondary schools in the UK and more than half of the primary schools [5] , exposing the most vulnerable populations to microwave irradiation.

The increasing popularity of wi-fi comes on the heels of the explosive growth in wireless mobile telephones, and amid heightened concerns over the health hazards of saturating levels of electromagnetic radiation [6] ( Cancer Risks from Microwaves Confirmed , SiS 34). Microwaves at current exposure levels are linked to brain damage, DNA damage, brain tumours, cancers, microwave sickness, impairment of cognitive functions, impairment of reproduction and fertility, affecting humans, rodents, birds, and bees.

Health hazards of microwave radiation

• Rats exposed to microwave radiation from mobile phones for two hours showed signs of brain damage due to leakage of the blood brain barrier that persisted 50 days later [7] ( Mobile Phones & Brain Damage , SiS 24).
• DNA breaks and chromosomal abnormalities were found in animal and human cells exposed to low levels of microwaves [8] ( Confirmed: Mobile Phones Break DNA & Scramble Genomes , SiS 25)
• Risk of cancers – breast, prostate, bowel, skin (melanoma), lung and blood - trebled with microwave exposure in the Southern German town of Naila 5 to 10 years after the mobile phone transmitter was installed [6].
• Risk of cancers quadrupled in area exposed to microwave radiation in Netanya, an female cancers 10.5 fold compared with the general population in Israel [6].
• Risk of acoustic neuroma and glioma increased 2 to 3 fold on 10 years or more of mobile phone use [6].
• Mobile phone use correlates strongly with chronic illnesses [9]; Sweden has had a seven-fold increase in the long-term ill since 1981.
• Men who used mobile phones more than 4 hours a day had lower sperm count and poorer quality sperm compared to those who did not use mobile phones [10].
• A study in Greece showed that mice exposed to mobile phone microwaves at 1.68 m W/m 2 became completely sterile after five generations, while those exposed to 10.53 mW/m 2 became completely sterile after three generations [11]
• Reproduction and breeding success of sparrows and white storks are reduced near mobile phone transmitters, and exposure to microwaves in the laboratory caused high mortality rates in chick embryos [12] ( Mobile Phones and Vanishing Birds , SiS 34).
• Bees fail to return to their hives when cordless phone base-stations were installed, raising strong suspicion that microwave radiation may be responsible for the colony collapse disorder now devastating beekeepers and farmers in the United States and Europe [13] ( Mobile Phones and Vanishing Bees , SiS 34).
• Up to 3.5 percent of people suffer a range of symptoms including headache, nausea, lack of concentration, depression and allergy, known collectively as microwave sickness syndrome when in proximity of mobile phone transmitters.

More at: http://www.i-sis.org.uk/DSOM.php 

Wi-Fi EMF BLUES!

Wi-Fi is Everywhere

This Article from the National Post talks about the ongoing wi-fi radiation  discussion. There's no doubt that wi-fi has brought great changes in our ability to access data. Is this at the cost of our health and that of our children? Keep watching for the news on these health issues.

NATIONAL POST

Tom Blackwell | Aug 11, 2012 2:40 PM ET | Last Updated: Aug 11, 2012 2:41 PM ET

More from Tom Blackwell | @tomblackwellNP

Sick of Wi-Fi: The debate over wireless safety is not going away

Every week now, Dr. Riina Bray sees two or three new patients with a similar array of ailments and ends up blaming the same, controversial cause.

Suffering from stabbing headaches, “brain fog,” tinnitus or extreme fatigue, their symptoms seem linked to exposure to Wi-Fi routers, cellphone towers and other sources of radio-frequency radiation, says the environmental health specialist at Toronto’s prestigious Women’s College Hospital.

Dr. Bray’s clinic may be the only mainstream medical facility in Canada that routinely treats patients for a condition known as electromagnetic hypersensitivity. She recently held a seminar to educate physicians about what she calls a major and fast-growing public-health menace, paralleling the explosion of wireless technology in Western society.

“Every year we are getting more and more people coming in,” said Dr. Bray. “I’m very concerned, because the stories are very, very compelling … These are not crazy people. There is a huge, huge problem.”

More at: http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/08/11/sick-of-wi-fi-the-debate-over-its-safety-is-not-going-away/

People have different levels of sensitivity to electromagnetic signals and the possible radiation from these devices.. Some are not affected by EMF while others are developing major health symptoms. Check your own home for the presence of EMF and the possible exposure to you and loved ones. 

You can find some protection by looking here.

EMF Stopping Wallpaper

WallPaper Stops Electromagnetic Radiation!

This Article from CNN talks about the production of a wallpaper that stops Electromagnetic Radiation from entering a room. It would be an excellent choice for bedrooms and family rooms where you spend a lot of time.

Signal-blocking wallpaper stops Wi-Fi stealing (and comes in a snowflake pattern!)

By Olivia Smith, Special to CNN

New York (CNN) - Imagine wallpaper that does work for you and for your electronics. Wallpaper that doesn’t only protect your walls, but also protects your health, equipment and data.

Researchers at France’s Institut Polytechnique de Grenoble have worked with the Centre Technique du Papier to develop Wi-Fi-blocking wallpaper. The product, also known as metapaper, claims to selectively filter, reduce or reflect electromagnetic waves.

Metapaper not only protects against intruders stealing Wi-Fi from buildings, but also ensures that signals inside a building are more secure and stronger, the group says. Benefits include data security for companies or people that need dependable Wi-Fi. The wallpaper can also be used to create quieter spaces for places like hospitals and movie theaters.

The high-tech paper does, however, allow FM radio waves and emergency frequencies to pass through. The paper, which has a snowflake pattern on it but can be covered up by traditional wallpaper, is made from renewable resources and is recyclable, according to the Centre Technique du Papier.

Conductive silver ink and metallic patterns on the wallpaper filter around 99% of waves coming from outside, according to the French newspaper Le Monde, which published a story on the topic earlier this year. However, a room cannot be completely safeguarded by the paper - unless you use it to seal off floor, ceilings and windows, of course.

The metapaper also advertises itself as a healthy alternative, since it claims to reduce a person's exposure to electromagnetic waves. Scientists behind the product point to studies that say the overuse of wireless technology could cause harmful heath effects.

More at: http://whatsnext.blogs.cnn.com/2012/07/18/signal-blocking-wallpaper-stops-wi-fi-stealing-and-comes-in-a-snowflake-pattern/

There are additional measures that can be taken to limit Electromagnetic Radiation in your home. There are products to cover windows and shielding screens for the electronic devices you have inside. There are Scalar products that claim to neutralize the effects of EMF on your body. Take a look at these and see if there is something that fits your budget and can lower your exposure to these possibly harmful emissions. 

Wi-Fi Radiation

Scary news about Wi-Fi Radiation!


Wi-Fi Radiation is a serious force and exists all around you. If you have a wi-fi hub in your home you should consider shielding it from areas where children play or sleep and areas where you spend a lot of time. In this article from Mother Earth Journal, physicist Barrie Trower speaks out about the dangers of wi-fi!

Mother Earth Journal

Mother Earth Journal By LUIS MIRANDA | THE REAL AGENDA

Barrie Trower, a British physicist and expert on microwave weapons warned this week about the dangers of WiFi radiation, which he says, is as dangerous as the radiation emitted by microwave weapons. Mr. Trower is not just a scientist who happened to study microwave energy as a tool for warfare, he dedicated most of his career to studying the effects what this kind of technology has on whoever and whatever is exposed to it. Mr. Trower completed research for the Royal British Navy and military intelligence regarding the effects of microwave energy. Trower decided to leave his retirement to clear up the fog about whether the radiation emitted by WiFi technology is harmless to humans, as other people have said recently. During an interview with the Toronto Star, Trower spoke about the dangers of WiFi radiation and how other household appliances also emit the same kind of energy also harmful to all living things. Previous to Mr. Trower speaking out, an organization called Health Canada had publicly said that WiFi networks posed no threat to human health and that therefore it was fine to install and maintain WiFi networks in schools and other public places often visited by large numbers of people. Mr. Trower shook the validity of the report from Health Canada, by saying that the radiation frequencies emitted by WiFi signals is equal to those used in microwave weapons. In his speeches and meetings with members from Health Canada, Barrie Trower provided documentary proof in paper form where he explains how and why WiFi radiation is so dangerous to humans and specially to children. In the document, Mr. Trower begins by providing an account of his experience studying the effects of microwave radiation and then describes how these radiation has the capacity to literally cook living things while they’re alive. “The Cold War extended my military education into the full diversity of stealthmicrowave warfare and communication systems,” Trower said. “I was previously aware of reports concerning dead birds in and around communication bases. On examination these birds were found to be cooked.”

Trower goes further to explain that microwave technology is the selected mode of communication in military settings because its radio waves are so strong that they are capable of penetrating places where no other form of radio waves can get. Trower adds that sickness due to exposure to microwave radiation was first seen and reported back in 1932, when it was identified as ’microwave or radio wave sickness.’ Among the symptoms of such sickness, experts have found severe tiredness, fatigue, fitful sleep, headaches, intolerability and high susceptibility to infection. The symptoms, he says, are a consequence of the athermal effects of the radiation; that is, the effects the radiation has without emitting or exposing the victims to any kind of noticeable heat waves.

More at: http://mother-earth-journal.com/2012/07/16/wifi-radiation-as-dangerous-as-microwave-weapons-warns-physicist/

Wi-Fi Radiation comes from many sources and is typically emitted from a "hotspot". Here is a quote from Wikipedia: "A device that can use Wi-Fi (such as a personal computer, video game console,smartphone, tablet, or digital audio player) can connect to a network resource such as the Internet via a wireless network access point. Such an access point (or hotspot) has a range of about 20 meters (65 feet) indoors and a greater range outdoors. Hotspot coverage can comprise an area as small as a single room with walls that block radio waves or as large as many square miles — this is achieved by using multiple overlapping access points."