The government received and published on Tuesday a long-awaited report on 5G, produced by the General Inspectorate of Social Affairs (IGAS) and the General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF).
This first text that Europe 1 has obtained should serve as a reference for the development of this technology in France.
He underlines the delay of France and the quasi-zero risks for health.
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The timing is almost perfect: while the debate on 5G is raging in France, as elected officials are calling for a moratorium on its development, the government received a benchmark report on this technology on Tuesday morning, which should boost data flows in the coming years.
Produced by several State services, this is a summary of experiences carried out abroad, where countries are much more advanced than France.
Interest of 5G for individuals and professionals, delay in France and above all possible health risks: the report provides answers to the many questions that arise.
5G, a technological necessity
The report first of all recalls the interest of 5G, a technology that will make it possible to benefit from a speed 10 times greater than that of 4G.
It will be used by individuals, to browse the Internet ever faster or to watch streaming movies in HD on their phone, for example, and to use more and more connected objects around us.
5G "could make it possible to operate a million connected objects per square kilometer", underlines the report.
It will be used for the development of the industries of the future: 4.0 factories, autonomous cars, etc.
And the need to take a step forward is felt: data traffic has increased tenfold between 2015 and 2019 and is now increasing by 50% per year.
As a result, according to operators, there is a risk of saturation of current 4G networks in 2022 in France.
However, 5G is not a revolution, there will be no technological breakthrough.
The report thus speaks of a "4G ++".
It will also first be grafted onto existing networks, on common frequencies (3.5 GHz, used by WiFi) before benefiting from specific antennas and switching to higher frequencies (26 GHz, used by fixed networks and satellite links).
France lags behind its neighbors
Second observation of the report: France must accelerate if it does not want to be let go technologically.
Of the 26 countries studied, only five have not yet launched commercial offers: Belgium, Estonia, Brazil, Singapore and therefore, France.
Opposite, South Korea already has 118,000 5G antennas and has seven million subscribers.
The United States and China also began their turn last year, and twelve European countries have already launched consumer offers.
"We have to move forward. We are a year and a half behind our neighbors," we deplore at Bercy.
As it stands, there is "no question of launching a moratorium, nor on auctions for frequencies (
which begin on September 29, editor's note
), nor on the development of 5G", we hammer in the cabinet by Secretary of State for Digital Cédric O. "No country in the sample has organized a national consultation specifically dedicated to 5G", the report specifies.
On the other hand, local consultations have proved their worth in Canada, Italy, Switzerland ... A path that the government will follow by setting up a "monitoring committee" with associations of elected officials.
"We have to go but by offering more transparency and education," we recognize at Bercy.
A limited health risk ...
This is one of the main concerns of opponents of 5G: aren't these waves, supposedly more powerful, likely to have an impact on the health of the French?
To answer this question, the inspectors analyzed several studies carried out in countries where 5G is already a reality.
User exposure to electromagnetic waves "is expected to remain moderate in the early stage of development" of 5G, the report concludes.
The radiation exposure tolerance thresholds are written into law in France and are never exceeded: current readings place the median level of exposure at a level 150 times lower than the set limit.
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On the other hand, the report underlines that one "can reasonably estimate that the introduction of 5G could contribute mechanically to an increase of the 'atypical points'", places where the level of exposure does not exceed the thresholds but does not. is more "than" 10 times lower than the norm.
There are only 29 in France today.
The inspectors ask that "this point be the subject of particular vigilance" in the future.
"5G will not generate a break in exposure in urban areas," said the report, which speaks rather of "moderate evolution".
Furthermore, currently, only the thermal effects of electromagnetic radiation on tissues are proven and therefore taken into account.
The report explains, on this subject, that the propagation of high frequency waves, which will be used for 5G, is less in buildings and fabrics.
In other words, 5G waves penetrate the skin less than TV or WiFi waves.
Long-term effects, such as the possibility that the waves are carcinogenic, are still a subject of debate within the scientific community.
... but vigilance remains essential
On the subject of antennas, here too the report is reassuring.
Where 4G antennas broadcast continuously throughout their range, future 5G antennas, called "active", made up of several small antennas, will activate according to demand and directly target users.
The first readings carried out on French test sites do not show any non-standard measurements, even in the case of simulation with maximum data traffic.
A large study conducted in South Korea indicates that in busy areas of Seoul, exposure to waves is equivalent to 2% of the acceptable standard and 6% near antennas.
The only question mark in the health report concerns the 26GHz frequencies, which are intended to carry 5G in the medium term.
In the absence of sufficient data today, "the subsequent use of the band around 26 GHz will bring new effects that remain to be documented", note the authors.
This is why the report recommends strengthening the resources allocated to research on exposure to electromagnetic waves and adapting the methods for monitoring the level of exposure to waves by taking measurements before and after installation of 5G antennas.
All while "improving transparency and information to the population".
The report, which should be followed by new work in the future, does not, however, contain an "Environment" component, the ecological impact of 5G however giving rise to many concerns.