During the pandemic’s early months, misinformation sparked unfounded fears about 5G. Since then, mainstream sentiment has normalized as real‑world experience accumulated and health agencies reiterated safety guidance. Global 5G adoption has surged past two billion subscriptions by the end of 2024, with further growth expected in 2025, according to the Ericsson Mobility Report. Fact‑checkers also debunked COVID/5G claims, and platform moderation reduced their reach, helping concerns recede into a smaller, persistent minority; UK media literacy tracking shows people increasingly rely on trusted sources to navigate claims. Paired with fake news circulating and comments from celebrity conspiracy theorists — the 5G fear had a strong base.
The internet has been crafting a variety of wild theories about the origin of coronavirus: it’s a plot to keep everyone home while the government changes out the batteries in the birds, or a ploy by Zoom to boost their video conferencing product. And a bit more seriously, a group of people believes that 5G internet is accelerating the spread of the coronavirus. Last week, these kinds of theories took flight as people set fire to 5G masts in the UK. Since then, commercial 5G is live in well over 100 countries and thousands of cities worldwide, as independently mapped by Ookla’s 5G Map, while conspiracy narratives have declined in mainstream channels as regulators and public‑health bodies repeatedly clarified how COVID‑19 actually spreads.
UK government officials have called the theory nonsense — and let’s be clear, it is. The national medical director of NHS England, Stephen Powis, said, “The 5G story is complete and utter rubbish, it’s nonsense, it’s the worst kind of fake news,” said Powis. “The reality is that mobile phone networks are absolutely critical to all of us.” Powis also noted that those particular phone networks are used by healthcare workers and emergency services. Current national guidance aligns: the UK Health Security Agency advises that exposures from 5G in the community are expected to remain low relative to international limits and does not anticipate impacts on public health when installations comply with those limits (UKHSA).
There is no evidence that 5G technology is dangerous, nor that it is related to the spread of COVID-19. The World Health Organization (WHO) has firmly stated that 5G networks do not spread the virus. Modern RF exposure limits used by most countries are anchored to the ICNIRP 2020 guidelines, which cover 100 kHz–300 GHz and include large safety margins; real‑world regulator measurements around 5G sites in public areas consistently find levels well within those limits (e.g., Ofcom, ARPANSA).
How COVID-19 is spread
The spread of the new coronavirus strain has nothing to do with radio waves (the technology that 5G uses). SARS‑CoV‑2 spreads primarily when an infected person exhales respiratory droplets and tiny airborne particles (aerosols) during breathing, speaking, singing, coughing, or sneezing; people nearby can inhale these particles or they can land on the eyes, nose, or mouth. Risk is highest at close range and in crowded or poorly ventilated indoor spaces; ventilation and filtration reduce risk (CDC; WHO). CDC recommends targeting about 5 air changes per hour equivalent and using MERV‑13 or higher filtration where feasible in occupied spaces (CDC ventilation guidance).
COVID-19 spread widely in countries with and without 5G technology. Early dashboards that compared case counts — for example, who is leading for most COVID-19 cases in the Eastern Mediterranean — reflected epidemic timing and public‑health measures, not the presence of 5G infrastructure.
How 5G works
5G is the latest wireless network technology. Compared with 4G (IMT‑Advanced), the 5G IMT‑2020 specification sets much higher performance targets: peak downlink 20 Gbps and uplink 10 Gbps, user‑experienced rates of ~100/50 Mbps, and radio‑interface latency targets as low as ~1 ms (vs. 4G peaks up to 1 Gbps and ~10 ms latency) (ITU IMT‑2020; ITU IMT‑Advanced). The fastest 5G layers (e.g., millimetre wave) have short range, so carriers densify coverage with additional sites and small cell sites all over — on light poles, towers, walls, etc. Availability has expanded widely and continues to grow city by city across well over 100 countries (Ericsson Mobility Report). You will also need a 5G-enabled phone for it to work.
5G uses radiofrequency technology, or radio waves, to transmit that information. Radio waves are at the lower end of the electromagnetic spectrum, and are non-ionizing, meaning they won’t do damage to the DNA in human cell tissues because it’s too weak to break chemical bonds. Radiation on the ionizing side of the scale, like from gamma rays and x-rays, can break molecular bonds and cause cancer.
Radiation sounds scary, but it simply means energy. Each type of radiation on the electromagnetic spectrum is determined by its frequency. For health protection, most national limits reference the ICNIRP 2020 framework: below 6 GHz, compliance is assessed via SAR; above 6 GHz (including 5G millimetre wave), absorbed power density is used. These limits include large safety factors (often at least 50‑fold) relative to thresholds for established effects (tissue heating). Field surveys by regulators consistently find ambient levels from 5G in public areas to be small fractions of the limits (Ofcom UK measurements; ARPANSA). Authoritative reviews up to 2024 report no established adverse health effects from wireless exposures below guideline limits, including 5G (WHO 5G Q&A). The WHO has categorized radiofrequency radiation as a Group 2B human carcinogen (those not proven to cause cancer), the same classification as coffee.
The bottom line
It is more important now than ever to keep people connected and online. The next evolution of wireless technology, 5G, can help those connections improve. By late 2024, 5G subscriptions exceeded two billion globally and coverage approached roughly half of the world’s population, with strong mid‑band deployments and growing Standalone cores (around 50 public SA networks), according to Ericsson, the GSA, and the ITU’s 2024 Facts & Figures. 5G‑Advanced (3GPP Release 18) was completed in mid‑2024, paving the way for 2025–2026 features such as AI‑assisted RAN, enhanced positioning, energy‑efficiency, RedCap evolution, and multicast/broadcast (3GPP 5G‑Advanced). Multiple health and regulatory bodies (WHO, UKHSA, ARPANSA, FDA) conclude there are no established adverse effects from RF exposures below international limits; ICNIRP 2020 remains the reference framework, and national measurements show public levels are well within those limits. There is no mechanism by which radio waves could carry or spread a virus, and COVID‑19 spreads via respiratory particles, not wireless signals. As networks evolve, the focus has shifted from myths to practical benefits (speed, capacity, reliability) and continued adherence to transparent, science‑based safety standards.
