Mobile technology health hazards

The first mobile phones to connect to telephone networks were often installed
in cars before the hand-held version came on the market and the revolution in
mobile technology began. The first generation of mobile phones (called 1G)
were large, heavy and analogue and it was not until the invention of the second
generation (2G) in the 1990s that digital networks could be used. The digital
element enabled faster signalling. At the same time, developments in battery
design and energy-saving electronics allowed the phones themselves to
become smaller and therefore more truly mobile. The second generation
allowed for text messaging too, and this began with the first person-to-person
text message in Finland in 1993, although a machine-generated text message
had been successfully sent two years earlier.
None of this would have been possible without the development of duplex
technology to replace the relatively primitive simplex technology of the first
phase of mobile communication. In duplex technology, there are two
frequencies available simultaneously. These two frequencies can be obtained
by the principle of Frequency Division Duplex (FDD). To send two signals
wirelessly, it is necessary to create a paired spectrum, where one band carries
the uplink (from phone to antenna) and the other carries the downlink (from
antenna to phone).Time Division Duplex (TDD) can achieve the same thing, but
instead of splitting the frequency, the uplink and downlink are switched very
rapidly, giving the impression that one frequency is used.
For mobile telephony to work to its fullest potential, it needs to have a network
through which it can relay signals.This network depends on base stations which
send and receive the signals. The base stations tend to be simple
constructions, or masts, on top of which are mounted the antennas. With the
rapid increase in demand for mobile services, the infrastructure of antennas in
the United Kingdom is now huge.
Many thousands of reports have appeared claiming that the signals relayed by
these antennas are harmful to human and animal health. The claims focus on
the fact that the antennas are transmitting radio waves in microwave form. In
some ways, public demand is responsible for the increase in the alleged threat
to health. Until quite recently, voice and text messages were transmitted using
2G technology. A 2G mast can send a low-frequency microwave signal
approximately 35 kilometres.Third generation (3G) technology allows users to
wirelessly download information from the internet and is extremely popular.
The difference is that 3G technology uses a higher frequency to carry the
signals, allowing masts to emit more radiation. This problem Is intensified by
the need to have masts in closer proximity to each other and to the handsets
themselves. Whatever danger there was in 2G signals is greatly multiplied by the fact that the 3G masts are physically much closer to people.
Government authorities have so far refused to accept that there is a danger to
public health, and tests carried out by governments and telecommunications
companies have been restricted to testing to see if heat is being produced
from these microwaves. According to many, however, the problem is not heat,
but electromagnetic waves which are found near the masts.
It is believed that some people, though not all, have a condition known as
electro- sensitivity or electro-hypersensitivity (EHS), meaning that the
electromagnetism makes them ill in some way.The actual health threat from
these pulsed microwave signals is an area which greatly needs more research.
It has been claimed that the signals affect all living organisms, including plants,
at a cellular level and cause symptoms in people ranging from tiredness and
headaches to cancer. Of particular concern is the effect that increased
electromagnetic fields may have on children and the fear is that the negative
effects on their health may not manifest themselves until they have had many
years of continued exposure to high levels. Tests carried out on animals living
close to this form of radiation are particularly useful because scientists can rule
out the psychological effect that humans might be exhibiting due to their fear
of possible contamination.
Of course, the danger of exposure exists when using a mobile phone but since
we do this for limited periods, between which it is believed our bodies can
recover, it is not considered as serious as the effect of living or working near a
mast (sometimes mounted on the very building we occupy) which is
transmitting electromagnetic waves 24 hours a day.