The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says it would
submit a report on the safety of deploying the fifth-generation network
technology (5G) to the federal government.
Following the COVID-19 outbreak, many Nigerians have
expressed doubts about the safety of the amount of radiation to be emitted by
5G installations, with conspiracy theories claiming the pandemic was caused by
5G.
Umar Danbatta, NCC executive vice-chairman, while allying
existing fears about 5G, said the commission is examining results from the 5G
trial towards reaching a position on the issue.
He said the NCC looks to establish in its report whether or
not the 3.5 and 26GHz spectra are safe for deploying telecommunication services
in the country.
“We normally conduct tests at the sites of base transceiver
stations all over the country and it’s on the basis of this test that we establish
whether the radiations emanating from the devices are harmful to those living
there,” he told Channels TV in an interview.
“So far there’s no rollout of commercial 5G services in the
country. This is because the whole issue of 5G is still at the trial stage and
this has just been concluded.
“In the Nigerian context, what we have done so far is to
embark on a 5G trial using two spectra: 3.5 and 26GHz. We’re presently studying
the results of these tests and the NCC will come up with a position as to their
safety.
“What we’re interested in is whether the levels from these
emissions are below or above those specified by these international regulatory
agencies.”
Dambatta said base transceivers in the country have not
recorded any station where harmful radiation was being emitted after tests were
conducted.
“The type of radiation we’re talking about is non-ionizing
radiation and this type of radiation is being regulated by the Commission for
Non-ionization Radiation Protection,” he explained.
“Before any spectrum is assigned for the rollout of
telecommunication services, this commission would have looked at it and advised
agencies all over the world about the safety or not of utilizing such spectra.”
He listed other commissions that can advise against the
deployment of any spectrum that can have adverse effects on people to include
International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and the IEEE (Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers).
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