Story by Joe Pinkstone, msn.com / The Telegraph, 13 September 2024
(Photo): Experts estimate that 6G could reach speeds up to ten times faster than 5G - PAVLO GONCHAR/LIGHTROCKET
The next generation of wireless internet will have to use higher energy radio waves than current 4G and 5G devices as all traditional cellular frequencies are already in use.
Scientists are now investigating using higher frequencies, which have a wavelength of more than one millimetre, to create future high-speed networks with larger bandwidth and minimal latency compared to existing technologies.
But there are concerns over how to protect users from the highly focused radio waves.
“These systems are actually like a laser beam that is being pointed. There is a very narrow beam focusing a lot of energy very directly,” said Eddie Ball, a radiofrequency engineer and researcher at the University of Sheffield.
“You can’t see it as it is not actually a laser, it is a radio frequency signal, but a lot of care is going to be needed in these new systems to make sure this is pointing away from you, and it’s not pointing at your head.
“What is not known yet is any specific effect from the higher frequency itself, which will need further specific studies. I’m sure biological studies in this area will be performed as part of 6G development.”
There were concerns over the safety of 5G when it was deployed widely in the UK five years ago with people concerned the waves from the towers could be harmful to health.
Some local 5G masts have been set on fire but these worries were proved to be unfounded.
“People worry about the power absorption [with 6G], which is the thermal heating within a certain cubic volume,” Mr Ball told reporters at the British Science Festival at the University of East London.
“The handset is the problem, rather than the base station. People worry about the base station but you’re so far away from the base station that it is not the problem. The problem is the handset.”
The technology will be ten times faster than 5G, experts estimate, and will allow films and large documents to be sent in seconds and could usher in an era of data-hungry projects such as autonomous cars and robotic surgery.
The next generation of wireless internet will have to use higher energy radio waves than current 4G and 5G devices as all traditional cellular frequencies are already in use.
Scientists are now investigating using higher frequencies, which have a wavelength of more than one millimetre, to create future high-speed networks with larger bandwidth and minimal latency compared to existing technologies.
But there are concerns over how to protect users from the highly focused radio waves.
“These systems are actually like a laser beam that is being pointed. There is a very narrow beam focusing a lot of energy very directly,” said Eddie Ball, a radiofrequency engineer and researcher at the University of Sheffield.
“You can’t see it as it is not actually a laser, it is a radio frequency signal, but a lot of care is going to be needed in these new systems to make sure this is pointing away from you, and it’s not pointing at your head.
“What is not known yet is any specific effect from the higher frequency itself, which will need further specific studies. I’m sure biological studies in this area will be performed as part of 6G development.”
There were concerns over the safety of 5G when it was deployed widely in the UK five years ago with people concerned the waves from the towers could be harmful to health.
Some local 5G masts have been set on fire but these worries were proved to be unfounded.
“People worry about the power absorption [with 6G], which is the thermal heating within a certain cubic volume,” Mr Ball told reporters at the British Science Festival at the University of East London.
“The handset is the problem, rather than the base station. People worry about the base station but you’re so far away from the base station that it is not the problem. The problem is the handset.”
The technology will be ten times faster than 5G, experts estimate, and will allow films and large documents to be sent in seconds and could usher in an era of data-hungry projects such as autonomous cars and robotic surgery.
Bespoke hardware
Critics say the majority of people will see minimal advantages from 6G compared to 5G and that 6G should be used only for select objectives.
Mr Ball added that the 6G’s narrow beam uses a huge amount of energy and large-scale deployment would require an expensive refitting of existing infrastructure with bespoke hardware.
Mr Ball, who had a 20-year career in industry before moving into academia, is working on a 73 GHz 6G prototype, which requires precise beam alignment.
However, 6G mobile internet may use radio frequencies as high as 400GHz. Currently, all mobile internet uses frequencies below 6GHz, with most UK 5G networks around 3.5GHz and 4G at 1GHz.
“It has never been used in mobile communication before, and that’s because they’re incredibly power efficient and very, very expensive to make using the present day technology,” Mr Ball said.
“A modern handset would have a battery life of about 30 to 40 minutes using these sorts of frequency bands.”
6G is not likely to be commercially available for another decade.
Making the technology more efficient, cheaper and more robust are key issues, but experts are still grappling with how to make it safe.
“The higher directionality of the future mm-wave systems will mainly be a challenge in terms of maintaining a viable communications channel between the handset and the base station, when the hand or body may be in the way of the signal,” said Mr Ball.
“This would likely require more antennas and base stations to provide higher probability links of unblocked paths.”
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/technology/6g-mobile-phone-technology-could-emit-harmful-laser-like-beams-researchers-warn/ar-AA1qtbpC
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