The National Communications Authority (NCA), has debunked conspiracies linking the new 5G Technology network to coronavirus pandemic.
In a press release issued on April 9, 2020, the NCA says “there is absolutely no link between 5G technology and COVID-19.”
It therefore urged the general public to ignore any of such conspiracies.
“The National Communications Authority (NCA) has taken note of recent widespread rumours and misinformation about 5G technology and its alleged link with the COVID-19 virus.
“The NCA wishes to state categorically that there is absolutely no link between 5G technology and COVID-19. The public is therefore advised to disregard the misleading videos and audios circulating on social media”, portions of the statement read.
Conspiracy against 5G Technology
Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 viral disease, there have been claims that the 5G network is connected to the lethal virus.
Key among the conspiracy theorists are New Agers and QAnon followers as well as top UK celebrities like Woody Harrelson, MIA and Amir Khan who are falsely making these calims.
They perpetuated the hoax that global elites were using 5G to fuel the virus.
It has been further alleged that the 5G technology has the potency to weaken the immune system of the human being and that world leaders were using it to spread the virus across the globe.
But the NCA has strongly condemned those assertions, positing that they are not grounded on basic science.
“There have been over 50 years of scientific research about the potential health risk associated with radiations from radio frequency signals and telecommunication installations.
“The World Health Organisation (WHO) reports that no evidence has been found to conclude that exposure to RF radiations are harmful to human health despite extensive research to date”, the NCA statement said.
NCA’s Assurance
Consequently, the NCA has assured the public that, radiations from mobile base stations in Ghana are safe amidst the Coronavirus fears.
They say this on the basis of the fact that the fifth generation (5G), which is the next generation of wireless technology, has not yet been deployed in Ghana.
“The general public is assured that all mobile technologies are safe. As part of its regulatory mandate, the NCA in collaboration with the relevant state institutions will continue to measure and check compliance to the safety levels of RF exposure to ensure protection of all users of communication services including 5G (when it becomes available in Ghana) and future advanced technologies. The Authority further assures the public that there is absolutely no relationship between any mobile technology and COVID-19,” it noted.
Safety of consumers
As part of its consumer protection mandate, the NCA has established a Type Approval laboratory with test and measurement equipment for Radio Frequencies (RF), Electromagnetic Fields (EMF) and Specific Absorption Rate (SAR).
This will be used to take measurements to establish the safety of mobile devices (phones, tablets, etc) and field measurements of radiations from mobile base stations at frequencies below 6GHz which is the range of frequencies for 2G, 3G and 4G in Ghana.
Also, future 5G deployments in Ghana will also utilize some frequencies below 6GHz as well as higher frequencies and within safe limits.
The measurements taken by the NCA clearly indicate that the non-ionizing radiations from mobile base stations are even more stringent and safer than those set by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), which is the international body responsible for safe use of non-ionizing radiation.
Again, in 2019, the NCA contracted independent private agencies to audit all base station masts or towers in Ghana for structural integrity and to assess the level of radiations from all the sites.
The audit reports confirmed that radiation levels are significantly lower than the ICNIRP reference levels.
