As we continue our rollout of 5G technology around Australia, we are committed to sharing the latest information from health agencies on the safety of 5G, and sharing our real-world tests of 5G electromagnetic energy (EME) levels.
As we roll out more coverage, we also need to keep educating people on how safe 5G really is. These resources give you the facts about 5G – not fear or fiction.
We understand that there is a wide range of information available online and that this may be overwhelming.
We rely on the expert advice of Australian and international health authorities including the World Health Organisation (WHO), International Commission for Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) and the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) for overall assessments on 5G electromagnetic energy (EME) levels relating to health and safety, as well as our own testing.
What is 5G?
5G is the fifth generation of mobile technology, and it’s changing the way we live, work and play.
It brings more capacity, faster speeds and less latency. Additional capacity means the network will have better performance in crowded places and cater for a huge growth in data demands.
Faster speeds means your stuff gets to you faster over the data network, and less latency means the response time is much quicker.
Is 5G Safe?
Yes. ARPANSA’s assessment is that 5G is safe. In 2021 ARPANSA updated the Australian EME safety standardfollowing a very thorough review of the latest science. You can read the ARPANSA 5G and health summary in their update to the Federal Government Inquiry on 5G .
In January 2020 Australia’s Chief Medical Officer said: “I’d like to reassure the community that 5G technology is safe. There is no evidence telecommunication technologies, such as 5G, cause adverse health impacts. This position is supported by health authorities in Australia – such as the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) – and around the world, such as the World Health Organization (WHO).”
Read the CMO statement in full for more.
Five years of 5G EME testing – what have we found?

Our extensive 5G EME testing since 2017 has included early trials of 5G networks, of our first commercial 5G deployments in 2019 and now, the rollout of our latest 5G mmWave technology.
Not sure what mmWave is? We’ve written everything you need to know about the new technology on Telstra Exchange.
We have tested 5G in real world settings, where consumers are using 5G everyday, such as in cafes, shopping precincts, residential streets and homes, sports fields, schools, CBDs and apartments.
Testing also included EME measurements across a number of distances, ranging for example, from directly opposite a 5G site, to measurements in the next suburb, and running the 5G network at high capacity.
Our test results show that our 5G technology produces EME levels at around 1000 times below the safety limits in many cases.
We have also observed significantly lower EME levels from 5G under normal user conditions like video streaming, social media, working remotely with zoom meetings and email where the network is not artificially loaded to a high capacity.
Overall, the 5G EME levels are similar to 3G and 4G, however 5G is far more efficient, providing faster connections and greater capacity.
You’ll see a chart above which shows our EME readings from 5G in a live network between 2017 to 2022. It’s a way of showing people the real data on 5G and related electromagnetic energy (EME).
The chart shows the minimum and maximum EME levels measured as a percentage compared to the public EME safety limit from ARPANSA which is 100%.
You can access more of our 5G EME testing reports on the Telstra EME website.
Our goal in testing EME levels associated with 5G is to provide you with verifiable, fact-based information from real-world settings and locations in Australia.
Sharing our testing results
We continue to openly share our 5G EME testing results and these are now included in the international 5G EMF Survey maps published by the GSMA.
We publish the compliance certificates for each of our mobile base stations on the Radiofrequency National Site Archive.
5G Fact Sheet
We have also created a fact sheet with information on 5G, Small Cells and EME, distilling our comprehensive real-world testing and other important data into a format that you can easily share with friends or family that might be interested in learning more about the 5G mobile network and health.
5G Q&A and 5G Myth Busters
To answer the many questions on 5G, we have a detailed 5G Q&A page on our EME internet site. We also got our “5G Chief Investigator” to take a look into the myths around the new technology.
Inside our 5G testing centre
We welcome you to explore the information in these videos on 5G, EME and health. We have also included a video from our testing in the 5G Innovation Centre comparing the EME from common devices including Wi-Fi, walkie talkies, baby monitors and a microwave oven.
More on our 5G testing
Below, you’ll find a full list of all our previous publications on 5G and EME. As we continue our rollout of 5G technology around Australia, we’re committed to sharing information on our real-world tests of 5G EME levels. We ensure that all of our base stations and wireless devices are designed and tested to comply with the applicable EME safety standards.
Just like we’ve been reporting on EME levels for years, we’ve also been writing about it for just as long.
Check out our library of EME content:
5 things you need to know about 5G and EME
5G is the fifth generation of mobile network technology, following 2G, 3G and 4G. It has the potential to offer super-fast connections and response times and more capacity than previous generations. Here, we’ve answered five of the most important questions we’ve heard from you around 5G, including on our testing procedures and advice from government on 5G technology.
Our young engineers put mmWave through its paces with 50 tests of 5G
We’ve now conducted more than 50 tests on 5G mmWave and small cells to measure the electromagnetic energy (or EME) levels in many different real-world settings. In some of the most extensive testing undertaken on 5G technology in Australia, we’ve found levels of mmWave electromagnetic energy to be similar to existing technologies like 3G, 4G and Wi-Fi.
Your questions about small cells, answered
We’ve been using ‘small cells’ as part of our mobile networks for many years. You might have seen or heard some new information about small cells as we’ve continued to roll out and upgrade the technology that we use. We’ve gathered your most common questions about small cells here, and answered them for you.
5G health concerns and COVID-19: the facts
We’re aware of some concern in the community about a potential link between 5G technology and the novel Coronavirus (also called SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19). We want to be clear: there are no established health effects from 5G in relation to the Coronavirus. These claims have no basis in science, and they have been dismissed by both the Australian and global scientific and healthcare communities.
5G vs. 50 devices: Testing our 5G network and EME in a ‘smart apartment’
There’s been a lot of buzz around 5G in recent years. You might have read a few not so accurate facts around 5G. We thought we’d put it all to the test again and provide you with the facts about 5G and electromagnetic energy (EME) in a very high-tech connected home.
5 surveys of 5G show EME levels well below safety limits
We recently conducted testing on our 5G technology on the Gold Coast and in Brisbane to give a clear and definitive answer to many of the questions people are asking about its safety. Our testing found our 5G technology produces EME levels at around 1000 times below safety limits in many cases. Our testing also consistently found 5G EME levels to be similar to 3G, 4G and Wi-Fi.
Answering your questions on 5G and EME
As 5G accelerates towards the mainstream, and with many stories on 5G and health appearing around the internet, we’ve created an extensive FAQ to explain the fundamentals of our new 5G technology. 5G brings many significant benefits for Australians, and we’re keen to educate our customers and partners on its potential.