Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Ministry of Communications, on Tuesday clarified that several misleading messages are being circulated on various social media platforms claiming that the second wave of coronavirus has been caused by the testing of the 5G mobile towers.
As per a press statement issued by DoT these messages are false and incorrect. The press statement says that there is no link between 5G technology and spread of Covid-19 and people are urged not to be misguided by the false information and rumours. The claims linking the 5G technology with the COVID-19 pandemic are false and have no scientific basis. Moreover, it is informed that the testing of the 5G network has not yet started anywhere in India.
Mobile towers emit non-ionizing radio frequencies having minuscule power and are incapable of causing any kind of damage to living cells including human beings. Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has prescribed norms for exposure limit for the Radio Frequency Field (ie Base Station Emissions) which are 10 times more stringent than the safe limits prescribed by International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) and recommended by WHO.
The WHO, which has been at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19 worldwide and in promoting myths and misinformation about the disease, also stressed that “viruses cannot travel on radio waves / cellular networks”, the statement said.
DoT has a well-structured process so that TSPs strictly adhere to these prescribed norms. However, any citizen having any apprehension about any mobile tower emitting radio waves beyond the safe limit prescribed by the department, a request for EMF measurements/testing can be made on Tarang Sanchar portal at https://tarangsanchar.gov.in/emfportal
Last week, DoT had given permission to Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) to conduct trials for the use and application of 5G technology. The duration of the trials is for six months, which includes a time period of two months for the procurement and setting up of the equipment. Each TSP will have to conduct trials in rural and semi-urban settings also in addition to urban settings so that the benefit of 5G technology proliferates across the country and is not confined only to urban areas.
