Digital Infrastructure Strategy

5G is the next generation of mobile broadband. With 5G, you’ll see exponentially faster download and upload speeds. Latency, or the time it takes devices to communicate with each other via wireless networks, will also drastically decrease. Also, low power consumption will allow connected objects to operate for months or years without the need for human assistance.

5G offers faster mobile broadband, with speeds that will allow a full HD movie to be downloaded in 10 seconds as opposed to 10 minutes today, more consistent experience in congested areas with a very high number of devices.  Eventually, it will enable new services and applications including:

• faster mobile broadband and a more consistent experience in congested areas with a very high number of devices
• industrial applications, enabling businesses to improve their productivity, for example through predictive maintenance and real-time analytics
• Internet of Things (IoT) services, many of which will help councils and businesses deliver services more efficiently including:
  • transport and logistics: connected parcels and fleet tracking
  • health and social care
  • environmental monitoring: sensors monitoring air quality and water pollution in real-time
  • smart retailing
  • connected and autonomous cars: allowing cars to communicate with each other, other road users and even the road infrastructure

We are working closely with WM5G to test 5G use cases across a range of different areas.

Lower Latency: 5G will also have significantly lower latency meaning very little lag (or buffering), with reaction times faster than the human brain. This will enable applications that simply aren’t possible today, such as: multiplayer mobile gaming, factory automation, and other tasks that demand quick responses.

Greater Capacity: 5G will also have vastly greater capacity so that networks can better cope with not only the rapidly increasing data demands of customers today but the growth of high-demand applications being planned in the future.

Yes. In the first phase of deployment; this will involve either modifying and strengthening existing sites to accommodate the 5G transmitters and other equipment or building some new sites.  Upgrades will begin with rooftops then move onto upgrading masts.

Masts will need to increase in size to accommodate additional 5G whilst retaining 2G, 3G and 4G.  The antennas on a base station must be located above the street clutter to ensure that the signal can travel around the local area. When new technologies are added to a base station site the mast will need to be higher to ensure all antennas are above the street clutter.  Base stations need to be sited to maximise coverage and ensure residents and businesses can get good signals.

Masts need to be sited to maximise coverage and ensure residents and businesses can get good signals.  Mobile Network Operators sign up to the Code of Best Practice which outlines how they must develop networks responsibly, undertake appropriate community engagement and suitable pre-application consultation with resident and community representatives as well as ensuring equipment is designed in line with local planning policies.

The ability of councils to influence the roll-out of mobile technology is limited by central government regulations.  As a Planning Authority, we are encouraging pre-application discussions with Mobile Network Operators to agree locations considering factors affecting the visual impact of new electronic communications infrastructure to be location and design.  Siting and design of the infrastructure needs to be sensitive with infrastructure designed to be as unobtrusive as possible, minimising the contrast between the infrastructure and its surroundings, considering colour of equipment and landscaping/screening of infrastructure.

The construction and operation of masts are subject to regulations and guidelines to protect health and safety.  They must comply with International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) public exposure guidelines.  These Guidelines are recommended to the telecommunications industry by the World Health Organisation, the EU and the UK Government.  Mobile phone base stations are generally composed of a cabin or cabinet, which houses electrical equipment that generates the radio signal, a supporting structure such as a tower of pole and set of antennas.  Only antennas emit radio waves.  Antenna positioning, signage and physical barriers are used to prevent public getting too close to the equipment.

5G, like 4G, 3G and 2G, uses radio waves, a type of electromagnetic field, to transmit and receive voice and data. Virtually everyone in the modern world is exposed to electromagnetic fields by manmade sources including TV and radio transmissions, communications by emergency services, medical and factory equipment, electronic car keys, baby-listening devices, WiFi and any household appliance that uses electricity.

Research into the safety of radio signals has been conducted for more than 50 years. The strong consensus of the public health agencies, such as the World Health Organisation, is that no health risks have been established from exposure to the low-level radio signals used for mobile communications.

Public Health England advise that the current exposure of the general public to radio waves is well within the international health-related guideline levels that are used in the UK.  They said that when 5G is added to an existing network or in a new area the overall exposure to radio waves is expected to remain low relative to these guidelines.   As such there should be no consequences for public health.  UK network operators implementing 5G are committed to complying with the current guidelines.

In line with advice from World Health Organisation (WHO), the UK Government has adopted the exposure limits developed by International Commission on Non- Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) who monitor all new research. The ICNIRP safety guidelines are designed to protect people of all ages, including children. All UK mobile network build their networks within these guidelines. The ICNIRP guidelines cover all frequencies used for mobile telephony, including those being allocated for 5G.

There are ongoing discussions regarding 5G and security concerns, including the equipment used in various parts of the network.  Operators will comply with all statutory requirements with regard to security issues.

Concerns have been raised that 5G signals could interfere with weather forecasting, this is under discussion in the meteorology community and measures have been introduced to address any potential issues.

The initial rollout of 5G will be based on the upgrade of the current mobile network. Mobile Network Operators utilise small cells to cover gaps in coverage where the broader network cannot reach. Additionally, small cells will provide additional capacity in high density transit areas such as railway stations and sports stadiums.