NCC to submit report on 5G safety to FG

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says it would submit a report on the safety of deploying the fifth-generation network technology (5G) to the federal government.

Following the COVID-19 outbreak, many Nigerians have expressed doubts about the safety of the amount of radiation to be emitted by 5G installations, with conspiracy theories claiming the pandemic was caused by 5G.

Umar Danbatta, NCC executive vice-chairman, while allying existing fears about 5G, said the commission is examining results from the 5G trial towards reaching a position on the issue.

He said the NCC looks to establish in its report whether or not the 3.5 and 26GHz spectra are safe for deploying telecommunication services in the country.

“We normally conduct tests at the sites of base transceiver stations all over the country and it’s on the basis of this test that we establish whether the radiations emanating from the devices are harmful to those living there,” he told Channels TV in an interview.

“So far there’s no rollout of commercial 5G services in the country. This is because the whole issue of 5G is still at the trial stage and this has just been concluded.

“In the Nigerian context, what we have done so far is to embark on a 5G trial using two spectra: 3.5 and 26GHz. We’re presently studying the results of these tests and the NCC will come up with a position as to their safety.

“What we’re interested in is whether the levels from these emissions are below or above those specified by these international regulatory agencies.”

Dambatta said base transceivers in the country have not recorded any station where harmful radiation was being emitted after tests were conducted.

“The type of radiation we’re talking about is non-ionizing radiation and this type of radiation is being regulated by the Commission for Non-ionization Radiation Protection,” he explained.

“Before any spectrum is assigned for the rollout of telecommunication services, this commission would have looked at it and advised agencies all over the world about the safety or not of utilizing such spectra.”

He listed other commissions that can advise against the deployment of any spectrum that can have adverse effects on people to include International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers).