Several countries have begun to provide 5G services amidst global competition for deployment. This development is accompanied by many health warnings and concerns addressed in this report in an effort to uncover the truth of illusion.

The 5G network is a huge revolution in the telecommunications world. It will deliver faster data transfer speeds than current 4G technology, allowing faster access to content, with billions of unimpeded data transfers.

The fifth-generation technology will allow the linking of electronic devices of all kinds, which contributes to the spread of future technologies on a wider scale, such as autonomous cars, automated factories, remote surgeries and "smart" robots and others.

In order to increase the volume of data in circulation, the 5G network uses a higher frequency band than the current mobile network, starting from 3.4 GHz to 26 GHz in the future.

But the higher the frequencies, the shorter the waves, so deploying the 5G network requires an increase in the number of antennas, which raises concerns among some NGOs.

The United States has begun deploying the 5G network in some cities, and South Korea announced in April comprehensive coverage of its territory.

In Europe, Switzerland, Finland, Estonia and Monaco are the first to start deploying the 5G network, while Germany has provided operators with the necessary frequencies, and will follow suit.

China has been providing 5G services since November 1 in 50 cities, including Beijing and Shanghai.

Radio Frequency and Human Health
There are many sources of radio frequencies around us: mobile phones and even televisions, radio and wireless Internet (Wi-Fi), although this raises concerns, but research has not yet proved that exposure to low-power electromagnetic fields is a health hazard.

However, some studies suggest that "the long-term risk of cerebral tumor in mobile phone users could increase dramatically," according to the French National Agency for Health Security for Food, Environment and Labor (ANES).

This led the World Health Organization in 2011 to classify RF as "carcinogenic to humans", recommending the use of means of use of the phone away from the head.

In a paper published in 2016, the French National Agency for Health Security for Food, Environment and Labor estimated that waves of mobile devices, tablets and connected toys may have an impact on children's cognitive functions, memory and ability to concentrate and coordinate, and recommended reducing their exposure.

Biological effects
The World Health Organization says that "the main biological effect of electromagnetic fields caused by radio frequencies is a thermal effect," which means warming in areas exposed to these fields.

Olivier Merkel, an expert at the French National Agency for Health Security for Food, Environment and Labor, said that "some studies have indicated biological effects in specific areas such as sleep or stress."

It is noteworthy that biological effects do not necessarily mean health effects, which is difficult for non-specialists to distinguish, biological effects are a signal that the body is adapting to changes in its environment.

"Stress, for example, raises the rate of adrenaline, and physical effort raises body heat," said researcher Ibrahim Selmaoui of the French Institute for Industrial Environment and Risk. "This is a natural physiological reaction."

The question is therefore whether the accumulation of biological effects exceeds the ability of the human body to cope, which may have consequences for human health.

Abstracts by 2020
Olivier Merkel says that the frequency band adopted to start deploying the 5G network, about 3.5 GHz, is "very close to the one currently used for 4G or Wi-Fi," so that does not fundamentally change the scientific questions.

But it will change with the later change of the band to 26 GHz (this is called the 5G network).

"From 10 GHz, electromagnetic energy does not actually enter the body but is concentrated at the skin level, and this raises different questions about the potential health effects," says Merkel.

"At the 70-gigahertz threshold, the brain is not at all exposed," Salmawi said. "Concentration is superficial at the skin and ears level."

Information on these issues is currently inadequate, and in 2012 the French National Agency for Health Security for Food, Environment and Labor evaluated millimeter-waved airport scanners, which concluded that “this type of scanner does not pose a threat to human health”.

But waves, though similar in type, are different in terms of their use. With the transition to the fifth generation, people will be exposed to waves on a much larger scale.

According to Olivier Merkel, the French National Agency for Health Security for Food, Environment and Labor is preparing to launch an analytical study on the specific effects of 5G signals on humans, and hopes to complete them by the end of 2020.