5G rollout generates more questions than answers

A 5G rollout is headed for Fallbrook's rolling foothills, but there are still many questions to be answered and concerns to be addressed. One of the most significant areas of concern from the community is the effect these small cell wireless sites could have on health.

"There is a federal standard for health from radio frequency signals, it is issued by the FCC, and the bulletin is known as OET 65, and that really does preempt consideration of a number of health effects," Bob Gonsett, a local broadcast engineering expert, said.

The FCC has an "RF Safety FAQ" page that touches on questions about the health effects of RF energy. On that page, it is mentioned that while the consensus is that the levels of RF energy that someone is exposed to in everyday life are probably safe, the research has not been done on whole bodies, and there still may be situations in which people are exposed to higher levels of RF energy.

"Studies have shown that environmental levels of RF energy routinely encountered by the general public are typically far below levels necessary to produce significant heating and increased body temperature. However, there may be situations, particularly in workplace environments near high-powered RF sources, where the recommended limits for safe exposure of human beings to RF energy could be exceeded," the website says.

According to the FCC, this could occur if a person were to get "very close to and directly in front of the antennas."

Gonsett specifically brought up firefighters, who are often up on ladders and may be near RF without even knowing it.

"I was very concerned about firefighters and others who throw up ladders, climb up near these antennas, and may be exposed to some quite strong signals unknowingly," Gonsett said.

Gonsett also said that while aesthetics were the main topic of the Fallbrook Community Planning Group Meeting held on June 17, health seemed to be the primary concern.

"I think the basic concern at the meeting was not aesthetics. I think the main concern was human exposure to RF radiation," Gonsett said, "The FCC has kind of skirted around that. In their write-ups, who have they built these protection zones around? They've built them around schools, and churches and daycare centers. I'm sure the staff of the FCC was put in a very difficult situation, because the truth of the matter is, people are concerned about RF radiation effects on themselves and their children."

And while there is plenty of information on the FCC FAQ page (https://www.fcc.gov/engineering-technology/electromagnetic-compatibility-division/radio-frequency-safety/faq/rf-safety), there seemed to be a common theme in many of the answers: uncertainty.

While there are guidelines in place, and RF energy is generally thought to be safe, the website says that "it is generally agreed that further research is needed to determine the generality of such effects and their possible relevance, if any, to human health."

The effects on human health leave a lot of questions up in the air, but other concerns come with 5G as well. Gonsett pointed out that 5G has the potential to mess with communications and work like his.

Gonsett describes his site as a sort of "radio observatory." They receive weak signals and do weak signal detection. Quiet zones are essential to this kind of work, which is why Gonsett is asking that his site be marked as sensitive and be given a one-mile radius buffer from the new small cell sites.

"We had a public safety case that came up just a few months ago. Major changes in the frequencies used are being made by the regional communications system, which handles, in our area, sheriff's department communications and fire department communications. During that change, a mistake was made where something up at Red Mountain wasn't done correctly and the control channel was not set properly. So Red Mountain was kind of taken offline."

"Well, that's the central communications site for Fallbrook. Their only communication was with some far lying sites, but there were a lot of places around Fallbrook where they couldn't reach those other stations. So that caused a little wrinkle. The impact is not just for distant stations, it's also for local communications like the regional communications system, which is the backbone for our sheriff and fire department," Gonsett said.

That kind of work could be in jeopardy if Gonsett is not granted a one-mile radius. It's hard for Gonsett to say for sure because there aren't really answers to how 5G will affect his work.

"We're not told how much power they're going to be running or on what frequencies, and so we really have no idea of what's coming and where it's going to be in relation to the receiving antennas," Gonsett said. "The interference aspects can't be gauged with any degree of specificity at this point in time."

That's why Gonsett has been trying to work with the county, but he said he has received no response so far. Gonsett believes that if the cell companies do put in the small cell wireless sites near him, they'll be responsible for eliminating that interference due to an existing FCC precedent.

With the rollout all but inevitable, the best thing that the public can do is continue to ask questions and press for answers.

"I think people need to realize that these things are going to be everywhere, down residential streets, not just on hilltops, they're coming right into our neighborhoods. We're concerned about it because we don't even know what it is right now." Gonsett said.

"There are just big question marks that need to be answered. Until all of this is defined, we just don't know what it is that we're dealing with."