Dismiss claims linking 5G Network with Coronavirus -ATCON urges Nigerians

By Etuka Sunday

The Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) has described as baseless and untrue the claims linking the Fifth Generation (5G) technology with Coronavirus.
ATCON said, such claims have not been substantiated, by any conclusive empirical evidence, by either the World Health Organisation or other health research institutions, therefore, urged telecoms consumers, other stakeholders and the entire Nigerians to dismiss it.
ATCON President, Olusola Teniola in a statement said, “we wish to draw the attention of Nigerians to the unfounded claims and misinformation that is trending on all social media like Facebook, WhatsAapp, Twitter, LinkedIn and a host of others, which suggest that Fifth Generation (5G) technology is causative factor of Coronavirus pandemic also known as COVID-19.
“Consequently, we wish to clear the air on this misinformation, as follows:
“ATCON wishes to inform telecom consumers, other stakeholders and the entire Nigerians, without any equivocation, that the purported claims that 5G is responsible for COVID-19 is baseless and it should be discountenanced by Nigerians as what it is: false information.
“The claims have not been substantiated, by any conclusive empirical evidence, by either the World Health Organisation or other health research institutions,” he said.
The President noted in the statement, that “there has been no issuance of 5G Licence to any of our members to build and deploy 5G network in Nigeria by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). However, what has happened recently was just a trial of the 5G network by one of our members which was well supervised by the telecoms regulator.
“Currently, Nigeria’s networks are made up of 2G, 3G and 4G. In 2014, the World Health Organisation stated clearly that there is not yet any conclusive scientific evidence to the effect that there are adverse health effects caused by telecommunications infrastructures to human with respect to exposure to the non-ionising radiation emitting by telecoms base stations.
“ATCON, as the umbrella Association of all telecommunications companies in Nigeria, would like to state unequivocally that it would not be part of the deployment of any technology in-country that would put the health of any Nigerian at risk, as we believe the health of end-users of any technological advancement comes as a priority in he deployment consideration of such technology by our members to provide services to Nigerians,” the statement said.