Although 5G mmWave is super fast its wavelengths have short and weak penetration through physical objects such as walls, doors, trees, etc. which means a larger deployment of towers need to provide accurate positioning. Blockages and latency determines the number of towers needed.
mmWave doesn't penetrate walls
Even the air produces a signal loss, which limits frequencies above 28GHz to about a kilometer anyway. Wood and glass attenuate high-frequency signals to a smaller degree, so you'll likely still be able to use 5G mmWave next to a window.
Millimeter waves (high band 5G) are frequencies above 24 GHz. The higher the frequency of the radio waves, the shorter the length of each wave. Due to the high frequency of millimeter waves, the range is limited to 300-500 feet, making it difficult to penetrate buildings.
The fifth-generation wireless technology, or 5G, has been lauded for its potential to revolutionise communication and connectivity with faster speeds, lower latency, and increased capacity. Despite these advantages, a significant challenge that has emerged is 5G's limited ability to penetrate buildings effectively.
The main drawback with mmWave-based mobile 5G is that wireless high-band technology does not work well indoors. This is because mmWave signals struggle to penetrate building walls and certain types of glass, thus hobbling indoor 5G performance.
The telecoms industry has produced safety guidelines for human beings exposed to wireless radiation. However, there are no equivalent safety guidelines for wildlife. The higher frequencies used in 5G technology are known to be particularly damaging to insect and bird populations.
5G uses millimeter waves that have limited ability to penetrate obstacles, such as buildings, trees and even inclement weather like rain or snow.
After the 150-meter mark, RF energy gets weaker. The distance needed to reduce exposures down to the General Public Precautionary Level of 100 microwatts per meter squared (μW/m²) is often around a quarter of a mile (1320 feet or 400 meters) or more.
The 5G radio waves can't penetrate through structures or travel as far, so there's no reason to build cell towers particularly high for these. A 5G cell tower only needs to be 20-30 feet to be effective. These cell towers will only be able to service the immediate area, about 1-3 miles.
The range of a 5G cell tower is 1 to 3 miles (1.6 to 5 kilometers) when transmitting low- and mid-band spectrum. Examples of the 5G spectrum bands used by cell towers are 600 MHz, 700 MHz, 850 MHz, 2.5 GHz, 3.5 GHz (CBRS), and 3.7 GHz (C-band).
Rain and your internet
Most satellite, fixed-wireless, Wi-Fi, and 5G signals fall into these frequencies, which means that if there's rain or clouds between the transmitter and your receiver, some of the signal will be absorbed.
Each time a user connects to a 5G antenna, mobile networks can pinpoint a user's location and can even determine what building a user is in. Threats such as semantic information attacks (the use of incorrect information to cause harm) often target the location data of users.
Disruption Risk to Aviation from 5G
Because the proposed 5G deployment involves a new combination of power levels, frequencies, proximity to flight operations, and other factors, the FAA must impose restrictions on flight operations using certain types of radio altimeter equipment close to antennas in 5G networks.
In theory, Wi-Fi signals are capable of passing through walls and other obstacles relatively easily. However, in reality, some walls are thicker or use reinforced concrete and may block some of the signals. Materials such as drywall, plywood, other kinds of wood and glass can be easily penetrated by wireless signals.
The Verizon Note 10 5G model runs the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chipset; in a statement, Qualcomm said from its perspective, "there is no issue for mmWave to penetrate material like plastics and glasses, and even the attenuation from dry walls isn't too significant (i.e., it can go through walls)."
Health issues
As per the American Cancer Society, cell towers increase the risk of health hazards, such as headaches, memory loss, congenital disabilities, and cardiovascular stress. Many studies also report that cell towers may lead to cancer as they emit non-ionising, high Radio Frequency (RF) waves.
Both small cells and cell towers emit noise. A 5G cell site is similar to a 4G cell site in terms of noise.
What are 5G towers, and how do they work? Standing tall and reaching up to 200 feet, 5G towers are mast-like structures with a radio transmitter at the top. Owned by network providers, these towers mimic those used for 3G and 4G applications.
Experts: No reason to believe it's dangerous
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission, however, has said that there is no reason to believe cellphone towers pose a potential health risk to residents or students near them.
Two of the most important factors are the distance and the direct line of sight to the antenna site. At the typical residential cell tower distance of about 250 m in cities, with direct line of sight, the observed levels are in the range of 200 µW/m2.
What Do 5G and 4G Towers Look Like? 5G towers tend to be smaller than their 4G counterparts. You'll find them placed closer together than 4G towers, about 500 to 1000 ft apart. They make use of different hardware called small-cell technology.
The small cells required for the 5G network to properly function causes another issue of waste with the new network. Because of the weak nature of the millimeter waves used in the 5G technology, small cells will need to be placed around 250 meters apart to insure continuous connection.
5G can facilitate the transition to a more sustainable, greener and lower carbon future. Not only do mobile communications contribute to all 17 SDGs, but they also play a key role in climate mitigation and adaptation strategies.
You can avoid switching and reselection too many times, but the capacity is also reduced, it appropriates suitable for low communication traffic areas. Thanks to the evolution of mobile communications, we can enjoy mobile signal anytime, anywhere, even deep underground.
The radiation from 5G mobile phones might be harmful for animals and birds too; for example, high-frequency electromagnetic waves are said to alter insects' body temperatures and impair their ability to orient themselves.