Misbeliefs and conspiracy theories could be the main obstacles to 5G deployment in Panama, where launch plans are still on hold.
“Criticisms of the adverse effects of new wireless technologies can have adverse effects by delaying their deployment or, in extreme cases, inciting damage to the telecommunications infrastructure deployed,” José Otero, VP for 5G Americas in Latin America, told BNamericas.
“One of the immediate consequences that ignorance can cause is that the municipalities, which are the ones with the power to grant authorizations for the deployment of infrastructure in their territory, reject the authorization requests for the placement of telecommunications antennas,” he said.
Panama announced plans to reassign frequencies to prepare for 5G in October 2019. But public services regulator Asep backpedaled in May last year as rumors about a disease caused by the technology spread.
In a statement, the regulator said it had not authorized 5G, nor received requests from operators related to implementation and infrastructure deployment. Asep also said it was working on identifying new bands to guarantee the “healthy” rollout of the networks.
But a 5G band had already been identified and announced.
In a decree published on the official gazette in October 2019, Asep said it had identified the 1,427-1,518MHz band, known as the L band, as suitable for the new technology, adding it would reassign frequencies to grant all operators 91MHz of spectrum for easing the launch of 5G.
Concessionaires of the L band had been given 12 months to free it, but updates were not reported since.
Is Panama ready?
Mistrust toward cellular antennas was not considered an obstacle three years ago when Otero talked about 5G in Panama. At a seminar, he told Asep that Latin America’s biggest challenges toward the next generation of cellular technology were infrastructure and the role of operators, according to a statement.
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A UN report put Panama in the top 10 of the best positioned countries in the region to adopt “frontier technologies” like 5G.
According to the index which was put together by the UN conference on trade and development (Unctad), Panama ranked behind Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Costa Rica and Argentina.
The government has not commented on the delayed 5G plans.
Debunking the myth
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), evidence of health risks linked to exposure to radio frequencies, including 5G, is scarce. The entity will publish a thorough report in 2022.
Yet, telecom manufacturers such as Ericsson have completed their own assessments.
The company told BNamericas that several international reports “consistently concluded that there is no evidence of any health effects associated with exposure to radio waves from mobile phones or radio base stations,” and that 5G networks use the same standards as regular 3G and 4G networks and devices.
It added, “we can assure that 5G is the most secure mobile network generation that exists because it integrates security standards from the beginning as part of the standardization process. This is crucial as 5G will be critical infrastructure,” adding that discrediting fake news is crucial for the 5G rollout.
Stay Safe!!