Final Takeaway: Government researchers, industry scientists, and academics from the United States, Asia, and Europe agree that radiation frequencies used by wireless communications, including 5G and 4G LTE, are safe and do not pose any dangers to public health.

Researchers at Cornell University have summarized the public health debate with the following three conclusions:

1. In contrast to lower-frequency fields, the millimeter wave band used by 5G does not penetrate beyond the outer layer of the skin, thus, deeper tissues are not exposed or heated.  Tissue heating is the main, potentially harmful effect of exposure to radiofrequency (RF) radiation, and this does not occur with 5G signals.

2. The introduction of 5G is unlikely to change overall RF radiation exposure levels.  People will continue to receive a majority of RF exposure from their own cell phones and other wireless devices, not from signals transmitted by cell towers or base stations.

3. RF exposure from cellular base stations, including 5G installations, will remain well below current international exposure standards and guidelines in nearly all public locations.

5G networks have been implemented globally since 2018. 5G networks enable faster speeds and can connect more devices than existing 4G LTE networks by utilizing higher frequencies of radiofrequency radiation (RFR – sometimes called millimeter wave or mmWave radiation). However, this higher frequency radiation has shorter functional range, requiring denser infrastructure - often in the form of small cells that must by placed close together (for example, every few city blocks) in order to provide reliable service [1] . While commercial use of RFR began over a century ago, the enormous increase in RFR exposure from wireless technologies has led regulatory and scientific bodies to reassess RFR public safety standards. These institutions largely agree that limits on RFR exposure set for previous generations of wireless technology are sufficient to regulate 5G networks. (see the "How are 5G and other radiofrequency ranges regulated?" section below). The new technology – and additional and visible infrastructure – however, has brought renewed attention to the potential impact of RFR on human health. [2]

Over the past several decades, a large body of research literature has accumulated regarding the possibility of negative health impacts resulting from RFR exposure. Within this literature, including recent papers, a debate persists about how to avoid health effects while balancing technological progress and implementing 5G systems. This section provides samples from the peer-reviewed research literature from both sides of that debate.

A paper published in 2000, "Thermal and Nonthermal Mechanisms of Interaction of Radio-Frequency Energy with Biological Systems" by Kenneth R. Foster, then a fellow at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), summarized the challenge inherent in this debate:

"... There are many mechanisms, both linear and nonlinear, thermal and nonthermal, by which RF or broadband electric fields can interact with biological materials." 

Concerning RFR interaction with the body, he concluded:

"... experimental evidence is frequently unclear. Many studies that report effects are exploratory in nature, or subject to technical criticism, or the effects are close to the limits of statistical detection. Many reported effects find conventional explanations or simply disappear when followup studies are conducted under better controlled conditions. It is the continued interplay of theory and experiment that creates reliable knowledge, and this has not even begun for many reported bioeffects." 

Many of these factors, noted by Foster 20 years ago, continue to pose challenges as the research community attempts to close this gap and definitively end the public health debate around 5G.

The Precautionary Perspective

Research has failed to support a causal link between RFR exposure and adverse health effects in humans at FCC-approved levels, but this could be due to research limitations rather than a lack of evidence. Therefore, deployment of 5G technologies should proceed with caution, and in parallel with rigorous continued research and willingness of government regulators to reassess and revise limits on RFR as new information becomes available.

The Move-Forward Perspective

After decades of research of the radio frequency radiation associated with cell phone and cell network infrastructure, there is no definitive proof that 5G poses health risks at FCC-approved levels. The benefits of 5G technologies are vast, and they should be deployed quickly to provide as many people and communities with those benefits as possible, as soon as possible.

Resources:

[1] Sources: "What Is 5G? Here’s What You Need to Know About the New Cellular Network" - The New York Times;

This resource from the NYU Tandon School of Engineering;

MmWave Massive MIMO: A Paradigm for 5G by S. Mumtaz, J. Rodriguez, and L. Dai

[2] Sources: "A Short History of Radio" - FCC,;

"RF Safety FAQ: How Safe are Mobile and Portable Phones?" - FCC;

“Differences Between the ICNIRP (2020) and Previous Guidelines” - ICNIRP;

"The 5G Health Hazard that Isn't" - The New York Times