FCC in 5G Fast Track Approval Says No to Free Speech & Ignores Health & Environmental Effects

On July 14th the FCC met and gave expected approval to fifth generation (5G) wireless technologies by opening up for development with minimal restrictions, higher frequency bandwidths know as millimeter waves. Millimeter waves (only millimeters between frequency peaks) can cram in a lot of data and energy in a short space but have minimal penetration. This means skin and eyes are the organs most effected by the radiofrequency radiation (RFR) and this is where the cascading breakdown in cellular communication will begin. It also means that smaller organisms like migratory birds, insects and other pollinators like bats, will be disproportionately affected by higher energy levels trapped in smaller bodies.

To make these 5G networks viable, millions of antennas and transceivers will be necessary to effectively move data-rich signals long distances and throughout buildings. The direct RFR and power quality (dirty electricity) effects of such an infrastructural network are boggling as are the logistics. The FCC did not conduct a review as required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for any “major federal action significantly affecting the human environment.”  Former USFWS expert Albert Manville has just written an excellent detailed summary of how wildlife is impacted by RFR. The Manville paper is here.

Thanks to Kit Weaver of SkyVision Solutions for excerpting this short segment from today’s FCC proceeding. So much for freedom of the press and freedom of speech. What better agency to do this than the Federal Communications Commission. Thank you President Obama for appointing Tom Wheeler former director of the former Cellular Telephone Industries Association (CTIA) to his position as FCC Chairman.

As Kit notes:

“I guess talking about “radiation” and showing a T-shirt at the FCC meeting was not judged as “behaving responsibly” and could not be permitted.”

https://skyvisionsolutions.files.wordpress.com/2016/07/fcc-press-conference-question.mp4

The entire FCC session is at this link:

https://www.fcc.gov/news-events/events/2016/07/july-2016-open-commission-meeting

It was disturbing that objections several Commissioners had were basically that the FCC lacks the expertise to deal with cybersecurity and should leave this to the [non FCC] “experts” [Remember the classic: Trust Us We Are the Experts (says industry)] and also that not enough bandwidth was being made available. Not a word about safety although they were euphoric about various potential uses of the new bandwidths (your fridge automatically ordering eggs if you are running out) and really excited  the US will be first out of the gate despite apparent objections from the International Telecommunications Union [ITU] a specialized part of the United Nations. I kept wondering if I was watching kids in a candy store for the first time or Nazis at an Aryan rally led by Hitler. Researchers at Massey University in New Zealand are just beginning to look into the safety of 5G and the FCC is currently reviewing the U.S. ancient RFR exposure guidelines but not letting these items get in their way of moving full speed ahead with this paradigm-shifting technology.

The second agenda item at the FCC session was to approve measures making it easier for phone carriers to get rid of landlines. Commissioner O’Reilly noted how one important goal here was to remove obstacles to consumer choice (unless of course that choice is to keep their safe, reliable, secure and acoustically excellent landlines).