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All you need to know about 5G

The Regions’ general brief aiming to regulate the protection of the environment also entails the power to adopt measures to prevent and minimise the risks related to the non-ionising radiation. It is therefore the Regions that define the radiation standards (standards for maximum emission) the operators have to comply with. The mobile operators are required to comply with these radiation standards, regardless of the technology they use. 

The Regions also carry out inspections in the field to verify whether the radiation standards set by them are complied with. 

For more information or to request radiation measurements, we invite you to contact your regional administration in charge:

• Brussels Capital Region
  Brussels Environment
  Tel. 02 775 75 75
   
• Flanders
  Environmental Department of the Flemish Government
  Tel. 02 553 83 50
   
• Wallonia
  Institut scientifique de service public
  Tel. 04 229 82 35 (info-ISSEP) 

Most manufacturers commercialise 5G compatible telephones but the majority of the Belgian users does not have such a device. In general, a new device will have to be purchased in order to be able to use 5G.

All you need to know about 5G

All you need to know about 5G

At the request of the Brussels Region, the BIPT carried out a study in September 2018 already, to determine which radiation standards would be necessary to roll out mobile 5G networks (5G). The technical report regarding the impact of the current Brussels radiation standards on the roll-out of mobile networks concluded that, taking into account the expected increase in data traffic and a desired roll-out of 5G, the radiation standards needed to be adjusted. The report was about 5G roll-out, but it also warned that 4G networks too risked congestion in the long run. That was confirmed by the study of 8 March 2021, in which the BIPT predicts the risks of congestion of the 4G networks in 3 major cities:

• The study predicts that the 4G networks in Antwerp do not risk a considerable congestion.
• In Liège the risk of a partial congestion during peak hours is expected for 4G networks. 
• For Brussels the study warns against a risk of a major congestion during peak hours for 4G networks.

All you need to know about 5G

5G further increases the mobile networks’ capacity for these to be able to continue to digest the still rapidly increasing mobile data traffic. For instance, a tenfold increase has been reported for data traffic in the past 5 years.

In addition, 5G supports the Internet of Things and new applications, for instance for the automotive industry, health care and media and entertainment.

5G aims at continuing to improve the mobile networks’ possibilities. Three spearheads can be distinguished in this regard:

• an increase of the data speed per user and an increase of the mobile networks’ capacity in order to be able to manage the future growth of the mobile traffic. This will result in a better user experience and allow applications requiring more speed, e.g. Ultra-High Definition Video, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality …;
• an improved reliability and latency. This allows to develop innovative services, the latency of which is crucial, for instance autonomous driving;
• an increase of the number of devices that can be connected in a given area. This boosts the growth of the Internet of Things, which allows a more efficient management and follow-up not only in various sectors but in your home environment as well (Smart Homes, Smart Ports, Smart Agriculture ...).

In December 2020, Proximus activated 5G in the spectrum for which temporary user rights had been obtained at a number of sites.

In addition, for its 5G Light product, launched in April 2020, Proximus uses the frequency bands that had already been assigned to it in the past based on its 3G licence, i.e. the 2100 MHz band. In accordance with the principle of technological neutrality (imposed by the European Directives), the operators having obtained user rights in a given frequency band are free to choose which technology they use. In that regard, Proximus’s démarche was completely legal. The accompanying tariff plan was baptised Mobilus 5G Unlimited and was offered at 49.99 EUR/month. It allows a download speed that is up to 30% higher than with 4G.
Proximus has to continue to comply with the current radiation standards for its 5G Light product as well.

Telenet will be gradually launching its mobile 5G network as of December 2021.

The first 5G zones are located around Leuven, Antwerp and the coast. Customers with a 5G smartphone and a ONE, ONEup, KLIK and KING or KONG Business subscription will be the first to experience the benefits of this new technology. The other mobile products of Telenet, Telenet Business and BASE will follow in the spring of 2022. The 5G network will then be developed in the following years.

Currently 5G test licences are also deployed for 5G testing.

All you need to know about 5G