NEW 5G HEALTH STUDY

SOME PARTS OF THE population have concerns about the potential health effects of the RF exposure, in particular that of mmWaves, related to 5G.

The European Union recognised these concerns and provided funding in its Horizon Europe research programme for research in this area.

GOLIAT (5G exposure, causal effects, and rIsk perception through citizen engagement) is a five-year project aimed at providing responses to some of the questions raised by the new wireless technologies, with a special focus on 5G.

The aims of GOLIAT are to monitor radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) exposure, particularly from 5G, to provide novel insights into its potential to affect health and wellbeing, and to understand how exposures and risks are perceived and best communicated using citizen engagement.

Part of the GOLIAT project focuses on two particular societal groups: (i) young people who could be more susceptible to the effects of RF-EMF, and (2) workers and industry, for which particular industries, occupational settings or scenarios could result in high exposure levels or abnormal exposure patterns.

GOLIAT is led by the ISGlobal institute in Barcelona and involves 22 institutions. The University of Bristol leads the work on the use of 5G in industry and for workers and will focus on developing and conducting exposure measurements and neuropsychological and wellbeing effect studies in worker populations exposed to 5G.

Professor Frank de Vocht of the University of Bristol told us: “To obtain as comprehensive as possible a picture of 5G implementation and developments in industrial settings, we are keen to discuss the application of 5G with representatives of industries and companies that have implemented 5G or are planning to.”

If you are interested in discussing EMF effects or would like to know more about the GOLIAT project, email Professor Frank de Vocht at frank.devocht@bristol.ac.uk. The project brief is available at www.isglobal. org/en/-/5g-exposure-causal-effects-andrisk-perception-through-citizen-engagement www.nokia.com/about-us/news/releases/2022/07/11/nokia-to-lead-german-6g-lighthouse-project/

A consortium of industry and German academic research institutes has identified six key areas for R&D work for 6G. The 6G Lighthouse Project brings together vendors Nokia and Ericsson, and 15 universities and research institutes, with Nokia chairing. Codenamed Anna, the initiative wants to “drive global pre-standardisation activities from a German and European perspective”, mirroring national efforts in France and Spain. Standardisation work for 6G only commences in three years’ time; there’s lots of 5G to do first, before it can deliver on even a fraction of the promise. The most significant milestone will be v5G Advanced in 2024.

News In Brief Xiaomi Breaks Fast Charging Record

 Market challeneger Xiaomi has demonstrated 210W charging. Using its 11 Ultra mobile phone, the company reports charging the 4,000 mAh battery from 0 per cent to 100 per cent in 8 minutes. The rapid charge showed 210W of power and received a certification as well. This makes it the fastest charging that has yet been demonstrated.

BT ACHIEVES 3MB/S WITH 5G CARRIER AGGREGATION

 BT has claimed a breakthrough in aggregating four different spectrum bands on a 5G standalone network for the first time.

Pooling the bands allows for greater throughput and efficiency. The successful trial, using Nokia radio equipment and a MediaTek 5G modem, took place at BT’s Adastral Park centre in Suffolk. It aggregated 2.1 GHz, 2.6 GHz, 3.4 GHz, 3.6 GHz bands on EE’s network.

MediaTek’s M80 chip provided the “handset”. A lab test in March demonstrated transmission speeds of almost 3 Gbit/s on the downlink. Lower bands penetrate walls better, while the higher bands provide additional capacity.

AMAZON CLAIMS A 5G NETWORK AS EASY AS WI-FI

 Amazon has finally launched its widely anticipated “5G in a box” service, AWS 5G Private, in its first market, the United States.

The US is well suited to this approach as CBRS spectrum licensing allows free access to unused frequencies.

The service is intended to allow organisations to design and deploy a 5G private network with little or no expertise, with the deployment and management handled remotely by Amazon’s AWS service.

A blog post by AWS’s Jeff Barr demonstrates how a new network can be specified and ordered with just four basic web forms. Amazon bills $10 per hour for each radio unit.

While it supports only 4G for now – 5G is coming – it is a landmark in taking cellular industry technology and making it widely available for private commercial use Amazon claims a watching brief for the UK.