POLEMIC AROUND 5G

ISSUES AND DANGERS

But what are the real issues behind this acceleration in mobile communications ?

A question of sovereignty

“France is the country of the Enlightenment, it is the country of innovation […] We are going to wring our necks out of all the false ideas. Yes, France will take the turn of 5G because it is the turning point of innovation. I hear many voices rising to explain to us that we should take up the complexity of contemporary problems by going back to the oil lamp! I do not believe that the Amish model makes it possible to solve the challenges of contemporary ecology, ”mocked the head of state, alluding to this American religious community hostile to technology and which lives as in the 18th century. The President then added how much "on 5G and many other subjects, we must not depend on any non-European power".

A question of sovereignty that has gained momentum as the confinement and the health crisis have shown the crushing weight of the American internet giants and that the leader of 5G equipment is the Chinese Huawei.

A competitiveness issue

5G will support a multitude of uses. “5G is the fifth generation of mobile networks, which succeeds 2G, 3G and 4G technologies,” explains Arcep, the telecoms gendarme, who has created a special section on its website. 5G is an evolving technology which will be enriched gradually, according to the evolution of standards at the global level.

When it is launched, 5G will improve access to the services offered by 4G networks by allowing better speed and more capacity. With 5G, a much larger amount of data can indeed be exchanged without network congestion. It will then evolve as elements of the network adopt this technology and the frequencies on which it will be deployed. It will thus promote the development of innovative services for individuals and businesses in many areas (health, transport, etc.).

The Internet of Things, a trend consisting in connecting and making intelligent a growing number of objects (automobile, various sensors, industrial robots, etc.), could in particular benefit from 5G and thus facilitate multiple applications such as the smart city, connected agriculture, industry 4.0, the autonomous vehicle… 5G is therefore also a competitive issue for the country, well beyond the telecoms sector.

Adverse effects on health and the environment ?

Since the arrival of the mobile phone in our lives, the question of its dangerousness and of the carcinogenic nature of the waves emitted by relay antennas has regularly resurfaced.A first scientific report on the effects of 5G on health has been published by the General Inspectorate of Social Affairs (Igas) is reassuring. Entitled "Deployment of 5G in France and around the world: technical and health aspects", this 190-page document - which is meant to be serious - stressed that there were no "proven adverse effects in the short term in below ”the recommended limit values ​​for exposure to electromagnetic waves.

Regarding the health effects of electromagnetic waves, "according to the consensus of national and international health agencies, there are no proven harmful effects in the short term, below the recommended exposure limit values", write the researchers. authors, who are based on "a large number" of studies published on the subject since 1950.

"The possible long-term effects, carcinogenic or not, difficult to demonstrate, are at this stage, for the most part, not proven according to the same national and international agencies, ”they add. A report by the General Council for the Environment and Sustainable Development (CGEDD), the General Inspectorate of Social Affairs (IGAS) and the General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF), published on Tuesday, however minimizes the risks for the health.The National Health Security Agency (ANSES), which noted in January the lack of scientific data on the subject, must submit its final report in March 2021.

And the risks for the environment ?

Beyond the possible harmful effects in terms of public health, opponents of 5G accuse it of causing an increase in greenhouse gas emissions.

The Citizen's Convention for the Climate an assembly of citizens drawn by lot, created on the proposal of Emmanuel Macron in response to the yellow vests movement, whose 149 proposals had been presented to the President of the Republic last June, had recommended a moratorium on the deployment of this technology. The President of the Republic had also validated, along with 145 others, the proposed moratorium on 5G of the Climate Convention. The final report of this Convention called for “Getting out of“ innovation for innovation ”, underlined the ecological and carbon impact. For example, the switch from 4G to 5G would generate more than 30% more carbon energy consumption, without any real utility (no added value for our well-being). "

While France opens its auctions at the end of September to operators so that they acquire the frequencies necessary for this new standard, the State's desire to go through with the deployment of 5G has been clearly shown.