Illustration on 5G.
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Arne Dedert / dpa / AFP
There are no health issues raised by 5G frequencies that the government is preparing to auction between operators, said Secretary of State for Digital Cédric O on Sud Radio on Friday.
“The frequencies that will be put on the market at the end of the year (...) are frequencies that are already well known, which are already used for other things like local radio loops” (an alternative to wired links in sparsely populated areas, Editor's note), said Cédric O.
Auctions launched at the end of the month
“You never saw someone come up with buttons because there was a local radio loop next to it,” he added.
At the end of the month, the government will launch the auctions to allocate frequencies in the 3.4-3.8 GHz band to the four French telecom operators for 5G, the new mobile telecommunications system much faster and more powerful than the current 4G.
But these auctions do not concern the so-called 26 GHz band, which will not be used for the launch of 5G.
The potential health effects of using these frequencies have been less studied so far and are therefore less well known.
Hostility from politicians and NGOs
5G is arousing hostility from several local politicians or NGOs, who question the interest for society of this new technology, citing health risks or an unfavorable environmental record.
Some have called for a moratorium on the allocation of frequencies in the 3.4-3.8 GHz band, but the government refused, emphasizing in particular that most advanced countries have already allocated these frequencies and are more advanced in the process of implementing 5G.
"We will keep the calendar that has been mentioned, which is that of the end of September", reaffirmed Friday Cédric O, who added that he would soon meet the local elected officials and associations mobilized on the subject.
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