November 21 (SeeNews) - Serbia, with the support of mobile operators doing business in the country, is conducting measurements to check the safety of the planned installation of a 5G network on its territory, a government official said on Wednesday.
The 5G networks require the installation of more base stations and the government needs to guarantee to the citizens that they will be safe, Irina Reljin, an advisor to the minister of telecommunications, said in a video file posted on the website of Serbian news agency Tanjug.
The project was initiated by Telenor Serbia and the other sector players in the country joined it afterwards, Reljin said on the sidelines of Telfor telecommunications forum in Belgrade.
Last year, the deployment of the 5G technology caused concerns after a number of European and US scientists signed a petition to recommend a moratorium on the roll-out of the technology until potential hazards for human health and the environment have been fully investigated by scientists independent from industry.
The 5G networks will substantially increase exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) on top of the 2G, 3G, 4G, Wi-Fi, etc. for telecommunications already in place. RF-EMF has been proven to be harmful for humans and the environment, the scientists said in the petition.
In April, trade minister Rasim Ljajic said Serbia plans to call a tender for the so-called second digital dividend band which is crucial for the development of 5G networks next year. The government plans to introduce a 5G network on motorways and in Serbia's biggest cities by 2020 and to expand it to other parts of the country afterwards, Ljajic said.
The second digital dividend in Europe refers to the 700 MHz spectrum which became available because it was no longer being used by analogue TV signals. The allocation of rights for the 700 MHz is expected to help mobile network operators increase coverage in rural areas, as well as aid capacity-constrained networks.