Five 5G myths - busted!
Press enquiries
If you are a journalist with a media enquiry, please contact our Press Office by email at pressoffice@ecotricity.co.uk
For all other general enquiries, please call 01453 756 111 or email home@ecotricity.co.uk.
5G is the latest generation of mobile phone technology, following on from 4G and 3G before it. This new innovation promises faster speeds and the ability to connect to more devices in a small area, so it’s great news if you struggle to connect sometimes or suffer from slow downloads and unresponsive websites.
As is often the case with issues around new technology, there’s a lot of deliberate misinformation around 5G. The good news is that it’s all nonsense – and as Ecotalk, our mobile phone service with a green outcome, now offers 5G, we thought it was time to put the record straight on these five 5G myths.
Is 5G is a health risk?
No. 5G uses the radio spectrum to transmit information, just like 4G and 3G. There’s nothing particularly different about the 5G signals.
What’s more, safe levels for mobile communication are set by Public Health bodies across Britain and Ofcom monitors the signal strength at towers, so we know that mobile phone technology is safe for humans and the natural world alike.
Does 5G cause Covid-19?
No. There’s absolutely no link between 5G and Covid-19. Unfortunately, this hoax has resulted in mobile phone masts being vandalised, some of which weren’t even 5G, potentially cutting off communications for ill or elderly people during the pandemic.
If someone tries this hoax on you, ask them to explain why Covid-19 is spreading in countries without 5G. After all, in February 2021, over a year after the pandemic started, 5G was still only available in 30% of countries worldwide.
Does 5G use more energy than previous mobile technology?
No. 5G antennas are designed to use as little energy as possible, only transmitting data when and where they’re needed, so the carbon impact on the climate crisis will be lower than sticking to the previous technology.
Right now, they use around half the energy of 4G masts for the same amount of data transmission – and that should be down to a tenth of 4G consumption by 2025 once more masts have been deployed.
Will 5G be tracking what I do on the internet?
No. In order to work and connect with mobile masts, every phone is constantly telling the network where it is, so that it can get the best signal.
5G also takes more advantage of a technology already used in 4G, called beamforming, where masts send signals to where they’re needed, rather than radiating them in all directions and wasting energy.
Is 5G more expensive than 4G?
No. All Ecotalk plans offer 5G connectivity as standard, where available, at no extra charge. You’ll need a compatible phone to use 5G, there’s already a big selection of handsets from which to choose.
Of course, it’s up to you whether you want to upgrade now or wait a while – 5G and 4G will be coexisting for quite some time.
Ecotalk uses 100% of its profits to buy back land for nature. Switching takes just five minutes and you can keep your current number. Visit ecotalk.co.uk to find out more.
Similar articles
Ecotricity Explains: Standing Charge
There are two main components to an energy bill – your unit price and standing charge. The first is pretty self-explanatory, but the latter is a bit more complex, so we get a lot of questions which we wanted to answer all in one place.
Guest blog: Becoming a sustainable business – closing the value-action gap
Those organisations which have successfully rewired themselves to embed sustainability into the heart of what they do, instead of it being ‘on top of’ what they do, are accessing new opportunities and strengthening their economic positions as a result.
Climate change - can we fix it? Yes, we #CAN(Bill)
With a general election around the corner, we urgently need parliamentary candidates to back the Climate and Nature Bill (formerly Climate & Ecology Bill). That’s why we’re supporting our friends over at Zero Hour in their mission to make this happen.