Dear Nigerians, the 5G Network is not a conspiracy theory

Last year, the internet and anti-5G activists claimed the upgrade would cause cancer, infertility and autism but all that smack has been with no proof.

Now, in this pandemic, these rumours have resurfaced, claiming the 5G network has been the cause of the rapid spread of the Coronavirus.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said very clearly that the virus cannot travel on radio waves or mobile network. COVID-19 is a respiratory disease, period. Besides, the virus has spread in many countries that do not have the 5G mobile networks and that include Nigeria.

The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, amid these rumours, said, “No license has been issued for 5G in Nigeria”. In another statement, Pantami said President Muhammed Buhari’s administration would never seek technological advancement at the expense of the health and welfare of its citizens.

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Apparently, a three-month study to critically review and study the health and security implications of deploying 5G in Nigeria commenced since November 25, 2019.

Nigerians need to trust that no matter what, our government will not act on speculations alone but will make informed decisions regarding anything that could affect or risk the health Nigerians, which has been proven with the precautionary measures put in place to control the spread of the virus.

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A few myths about the 5G network:

• 5G means faster phones: iI is true that it will bring broadband speeds to phones but it is more than that. 5G promises low latency, especially in terms of realizing the potential of other emerging technologies.
• 5G is about 100 times faster than 4G networks and would has wide-ranging impacts on many other industries but it has no chance of replacing 4G networks anytime soon.
• 5G user-experience will be consistent: this is next to impossible as 5G is still a radio-based mechanism based upon millimetre waves that have difficulty travelling long distances and fail to penetrate most building structures. Hence, even long term, the end-user experience will most likely not be consistent.