Precautionary principle application and 5G development

摘要

The application of the precautionary principle has always been divisive, some think it represents an additional level of protection from the effects of the exposure to a certain agent, others think it is an unscientific obstacle to progress. With regard to exposure to electromagnetic fields, data from operators and Environmental Agencies have shown that, in countries where the precautionary principle applies, the electromagnetic space is already saturated and the operators may be forced to stop some currently available services and to reduce the number of sites hosting less evolved technologies such as GSM and 3G, to introduce 5G technology based services, otherwise impossible to implement with low exposure limits. The work consists of an analysis of the precautionary principle and its potential effects on the development of 5G.