The Uganda Communication Commission (UCC) has today hosted a high-level dialogue on potential risks associated with radio frequency (RF) exposure. The discussion is around striking a balance between the need to provide broadband services and yet taking into consideration people’s safety concerns.
For decades now there have been ongoing worries about whether devices like mobile phones are a health hazard — in particular causing brain cancer, as we always use our phones near our heads. The fact remains that mobile phones radiate radio frequency waves. But it’s radio-frequency radiation, which is much lower energy than the ionizing radiation you’d get from a say an X-ray.
Research has shown that ionizing radiation can harm one’s DNA structure and can eventually lead to cancer. But to calm the situation down, radio-frequency emissions from mobile phones don’t work that way — and today’s results prove that.
According to the studies conducted by the National Toxicology Program (NTP), a division within the National Institutes of Health in the USA. Based on the NTP’s results, as well as hundreds of other studies, experts are still confident that the current limits on cellphone radio frequency radiation are safe.
In the study, male rats exposed to very high levels of radio-frequency radiation grew tumors around their hearts. Female rats exposed to the radiation didn’t, and neither male nor female mice showed obvious health problems in a second study. Neither study turned up clear evidence that radio frequency radiation causes brain tumors, although the researchers are continuing to investigate. The studies are drafts that haven’t yet been reviewed by outside scientists.
We currently have several mobile technologies that are carried by these radio waves– from 2G, 3G, 4G LTE, and now 5G. In 2019, officials from the United States regulator for communications the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) confirmed that 5G radio frequency is safe and the rules regulating radio emissions for safety don’t need to be changed in order to cater to it exclusively.
According to the Verge, there has never been compelling evidence that 5G radio waves are dangerous. While they’re higher frequency than the radio waves used for 4G, they remain in the part of the radio spectrum that doesn’t damage human DNA — what’s known as non-ionizing radiation. Even the higher radio frequency emissions used in 5G remain less energetic than visible light.
But today’s gesture is its firmest acknowledgment yet that the United States believes 5G is safe to use. By leaving emissions standards unchanged, it means that the existing standards are already strict enough to determine when radio emissions become problematic.
Every step you take in Kampala you are constantly being showered will all sorts of radio frequency waves
Addressing Dialogue on radio frequency exposure, UCC ED Irene Kaggwa Sewankambo said, “We are in an era of broadband connectivity, so we have to connect people, and to do that we have to roll out communications infrastructure. At the same time, we can’t ignore the fears of the public”.
UCC under the telecommunications act has the power to give out telecommunications licenses in terms of spectrum. And as long as you have money and meet the commission’s minimum requirements, you can be awarded a PSP license. We’ve previously written a full article, explaining what PSPs are and the numbers we have in Uganda so far. Every wireless-based ISP has a piece of Uganda’s spectrum and currently fully utilizing and bombarding it all over Kampala with the rampant cases of cancer the world over and in Uganda, several people have attributed these to electromagnetic radiation. Basically, with every step you take in Kampala you are constantly being showered will all sorts of radio frequency waves from different carriers (MTN, Airtel, etc), broadcasting TV and FM radio frequencies, and not forgetting WiFi devices and what do all these have in common? They are all man-made.
Every after a few buildings in Kampala you will find a cellular mast or antennas, as each operator tries to cover and dimension their networks to reach their subscribers deep indoors and downtown basements. This means that everywhere you go you are surrounded by these invisible waves for each telecom company.
According to cancer.org, most lab studies have not found evidence of an increased risk of cancer with exposure to radio frequency radiation. A few studies have reported evidence of biological effects that could be linked to cancer. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) is part of the World Health Organization and says, “There is limited evidence that RF radiation causes cancer in animals and humans, and classifies RF radiation as “possibly carcinogenic to humans” (Group 2B). This was based on the finding of a possible link in at least one study between cell phone use and a specific type of brain tumor. IARC considers the evidence overall to be “limited” because of the conflicting findings and methodologic limitations in some of the studies.”
So, do you think the massive installation of telecom and broadcasting equipment around Kampala is causing more harm than good? The harm could be aesthetic or to our health. Is UCC on the right track involving stakeholders to discuss potential risks associated with radio frequency (RF) exposure?
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