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Answering your questions on 5G and EME: our new 5G FAQ

5G

Posted on April 18, 2019

4 min read

Mike Wood

by Mike Wood

Principal, EME Strategy, Governance and Risk Management - Telstra

As 5G accelerates towards the mainstream, and with many stories on 5G and health appearing around the internet, we have updated our 5G and electromagnetic energy (EME) information to bring you an extensive 5G FAQ answering the common questions we have received.

Many of the conversations revolve around the significant benefits of 5G for Australians and how the technology works. In 2018, in conjunction with Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association (AMTA) we launched 5G Explained, covering all the fundamentals of 5G.

Australians have also been asking what the EME levels from 5G will be – and are they safe? What happens when 5G is added to all the existing EME from other mobile technologies?

Answering your questions on 5G

To answer these exact questions, we have been conducting extensive EME testing on all of our mobile technologies – including both the 5G trial network and the new commercial network.

In 2018 we conducted extensive EME testing and analysis on the 5G trial network at Southport on the Gold Coast, and also commenced EME testing on the new 3.5GHz commercial base stations. The test results show EME levels are similar to the existing mobile technologies, and well below the EME safety limits.

As an example, we conducted EME testing on the streets of Southport in the busy pedestrian mall which is close to three mobile base stations and our 5G trial site at the Southport Exchange.

The maximum EME level we measured from all mobile, radio and TV broadcast services was more than 500 times below the safety limits. This is typical of what you would find in many communities.

Further north at Musgrave Hill, we tested the EME levels opposite a new 5G base station and the maximum EME level (again at busy times during the day) was more than 700 times below the safety limits.

To test the EME levels on 5G, we had the eSports gaming trial running and loaded up the 5G network with a special test device downloading data to simulate high traffic loads. In November 2018 we presented a summary of the 5G EME testing results to the Science and Wireless Conference, held by the Australian Centre for Electromagnetic Bioeffects Research (ACEBR) – the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Centre of Research Excellence. We rely on their research material for conducting our health assessments.

The presentation is available online here.

In terms of 5G and health, scientific experts from the ACEBR have also published a new 5G Wireless Technology Fact Sheet covering the latest on EME research and safety. A key question they cover is:

What do we know about 5G and health?

Extensive research has been conducted on the 5G frequencies soon to be introduced, including specifically on mobile phone applications. For future 5G frequencies, there has been extensive research on other applications using these frequencies (for example, radar and military applications) which have been using these frequencies for many decades at power levels far higher than those used in mobile telecommunications. No indication of any health impacts from exposures at the intensities related to mobile communications have been observed. (ACEBR Wireless technologies fact sheet 2018)

With so much information on EME and health available online it’s completely understandable when people say ‘we just don’t know who to believe’.

This is why at Telstra we rely on the expert advice of a number of national 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 relating to health and safety.

We make sure all of our base stations, including the 5G base stations, are designed to ensure they comply with the stringent EME safety standards, and we publish the compliance certificates and EME reports for each base station on the Radiofrequency National Site Archive.

We are continuing the 5G EME testing program throughout 2019, and will publish updates during the year.

Tags: 5g, EME,

The Author

Mike Wood

Mike Wood

Principal, EME Strategy, Governance and Risk Management - Telstra

Mike Wood is a Distinguished Professional with Telstra and the Principal for Telstra’s Electromagnetic Energy (EME) Strategy, Governance and Risk Management program. Mike has 30 years’ experience in the strategy and management of mobile network deployment, EME and community consultation for the wireless industry. Mike trained with the Australian Defence Department in radio & microwave communications prior to graduating from Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. Mike has worked in standards development for over 20 years and is currently Chairman of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) TC106 which has global responsibility for EME testing standards for mobile phones, devices, wireless networks and radio communication systems. The current focus for the IEC and Mikes international team is development of standards for the assessment of the new 5G mobile technologies. Mike is also active in the ITU standards and in Australia chairs the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association RF Safety Compliance Program.

Understanding 5G and EME

Network 5G

Posted on November 19, 2018

3 min read

Mike Wood

by Mike Wood

Principal, EME Strategy, Governance and Risk Management - Telstra

There’s been a lot of excitement recently about 5G, and Telstra is leading the charge in Australia. Last month, we turned on 5G-enabled sites in Adelaide, Canberra and Perth, taking our number of 5G-enabled sites to 50 around Australia. The rollout of this new technology has led to a lot of questions about the implications of 5G on everything from the Internet of Things to electromagnetic energy (EME).

To help answer any questions you, your friends, or family have about 5G and electromagnetic energy (or EME) and safety, we’ve created some new resources after extensive industry consultation and collaboration.

Earlier this year, the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association (AMTA) launched a new resource at the 2018 CommsDay summit in Sydney: 5G Explained. This website explains how 5G will work with our existing 4G networks, some of its advantages, and the new network architecture – including where antennas may be placed.

The Networks team worked on the year-long project to create 5G Explained to help us understand what 5G is and the implications of 5G on EME levels and what this means in terms of safety. We collaborated with global industry associations the GSMA and Mobile & Wireless Forum, operators, vendors and technology standards organisations to develop a resource that’s available to everyone and easily accessed online.

Understanding 5G and EME

Image: EMF Explained
We’ve also added a new page to our existing EME advice to explain what 5G is, and how it’s different to other technologies. One of our biggest challenges in developing these materials was sifting through the enormous volume of information, marketing, and news on 5G to get to the heart of how it actually works. Our next step was to explain it in a way people will understand.

Talking to our communities and stakeholders about mobile technology is a fundamental aspect of our work, so being able to explain simply what 5G is and how it works is the key to many conversations. 5G Explained includes simple and informative graphics to show people how 5G will relate to their everyday lives.

AMTA’s CEO Chris Althaus, who launched the new resource with us earlier this year, said that “with 5G literally on our doorstep now, and set to revolutionise mobile connectivity, educational resources like this will certainly help with 5G conversations.”

Our recent testing on the 5G trial network on the Gold Coast has shown that the environmental EME levels from all mobile technologies including 5G, is significantly below the limits set out in the EME safety standards. The 5G EME levels were similar to the existing 3G and 4G levels, however the new 5G technology is more efficient and has greater capacity, and can carry more data at significantly faster speeds.

All of our base stations, including the 5G base stations, are designed to ensure they comply with the stringent EME safety standards, and we publish the compliance certificates and EME reports for each base station on the Radiofrequency National Site Archive.

Tags: 5g, EME, networks,

The Author

Mike Wood

Mike Wood

Principal, EME Strategy, Governance and Risk Management - Telstra

Mike Wood is a Distinguished Professional with Telstra and the Principal for Telstra’s Electromagnetic Energy (EME) Strategy, Governance and Risk Management program. Mike has 30 years’ experience in the strategy and management of mobile network deployment, EME and community consultation for the wireless industry. Mike trained with the Australian Defence Department in radio & microwave communications prior to graduating from Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. Mike has worked in standards development for over 20 years and is currently Chairman of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) TC106 which has global responsibility for EME testing standards for mobile phones, devices, wireless networks and radio communication systems. The current focus for the IEC and Mikes international team is development of standards for the assessment of the new 5G mobile technologies. Mike is also active in the ITU standards and in Australia chairs the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association RF Safety Compliance Program.