5G network
5G network
5G network is currently being rolled out in the U.S.; they are not fully utilized yet because the next-generation phones are still being rolled out. All the major carriers in the U.S are currently installing a 5G network. Some of the companies that have already launched a 5G network include; Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T. These companies have aggressively been expanding the 5G network from 2019 to 2020. Sprints had launched its 5G network, but the system was taken over by T-Mobile which reformed the spectrum of sprints network (Brake, 2020). There needs to be a balance between coverage and capacity to build a 5G network. The 5G network uses mmWave, a high-frequency band, and carries a vast spectrum that allows speeds similar to that of a fiber network to be attained in a wireless network. These frequencies have been used before, but until recently, it was not feasible economically to be used on mobile networks (Brake, 2020).
Cities where Verizon has rolled out 5G network
When Verizon began rolling out a 5G network, it started with two cities where 5G Ultra-Wideband was rolled out. This version of the 5G network used huge chunks of bandwidth with a high frequency of almost 28GGz to produce high-speed network but suffers distance and penetration in buildings. The availability of this network partly covers some cities, and in some places, it can be accessed outdoors (Contreras, 2020). Cities that have been covered by the Verizon 5G network include; Detroit, Des Moines, Atlanta, Charlotte, Boise, TX Denver, Boston, Columbus, Chicago, Cleveland, and Dallas. Others Include; Hampton Roads, Grand Rapids, Greensboro, Little Rock, Memphis, Hoboken, Houston, Los Angeles, Indianapolis, Miami, Minneapolis, and Kansas City. And finally, Omaha, Panama City, New York City, Phoenix, Providence, San Diego, Salt Lake City, St. Paul, Spokane, Sioux Falls, and Washington D.C. are also covered (Contreras, 2020).
Cities where T-Mobile has rolled out 5G network
T-Mobile started rolling out its 5G network in 2019. The networks mmWave uses the bandwidth of speeds between 28 and 29GHz. T-Mobile is the first carrier to cover all the 50 states in the U.S after getting into partnership with GCI carrier to include Alaska. However, the high band millimeter waves cover Atlanta, Dallas, Cleveland, Las Vegas, New York, and Los Angeles (Contreras, 2020). Finally, on AT&T, the following cities are covered; Oklahoma, Iowa, Alabama, Kansas, Oregon, Kentucky, Arizona, Alaska, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Arkansas, California, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maines, Rhode Island, Michigan, Minnesota, South Dakota, South Carolina, Tennessee, Colorado, Texas, Connecticut, Missouri, Mississippi, Delaware, Montana, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, new, new jersey, Utah, New Mexico, Virginia, Georgia, New York, Washington DC, Hawaii, Illinois, North Carolina, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, and Wyoming (Contreras, 2020).
Sampling
The research has sampled ten cities to be used in this study. Random sampling was used to pick the cities. Each city was assigned a random number from which ten were picked. The cities picked include; New York, Los Angeles, California, Virginia, Washington D.C, Texas, Colorado, Alaska, West Virginia, and Michigan. According to the United States Census Bureau (2019), Population in New York was 8.39 million in 2018, Los Angeles had 3.99 million in 2018, California had 39.51 million as of 2019, Virginia had more than 8.5 million in 2019, Washington D.C had more than 7.6 million as of 2019, Texas had 29 million as of 2019, Colorado had more than 5.7 million as of 2019, Alaska had 731,545 in 2019. West Virginia had more than 1.7 million while Michigan had more than 1 million people as of 2019 statistics.
Coronavirus Cases Reported in these Areas
As of 24th July 2020, confirmed cases in New York cases stood at 416,000 while total confirmed deaths related to the virus stood at 32,295. In Los Angeles confirmed cases stood at more than 172,000 while confirmed deaths related to the virus stood at 4,351. In California confirmed cases stood at more 453,000 while confirmed deaths were 8,428. In Virginia, cases reported are 83,609 while reported deaths are 2,075. In Washington D.C, confirmed cases are 11,714 while reported deaths are 581. In Texas reported cases stood at 392,000 while deaths stood at 5,002. In Colorado reported cases stood at 43,847 while deaths reported were 1,795. In Alaska reported cases stood at 2,866 with 18 reported deaths. In West Virginia reported cases stood at 5,821 with 103 related deaths reported. Finally, Michigan reported 85,665 with 6,402 deaths.
Cities in Europe Yet to roll out 5G network
In Europe the study has picked Britain which is yet to rollout 5G network coverage and recently banned Huawei which was to rollout the network in UK (Browne, 2020). The UK has 69 cities and the study picked 10 cities using random sampling. The cities picked include; Birmingham, Brighton & Hove, Bristol, Cambridge, Chelmsford, Coventry, Derby, Bangor, Lancaster, and London. Population in these cities include; the population in Birmingham stood at 1,141,400 people (Birmingham Council, 2018). The city Brighton & Hove had a population of 244,329 (Citypopulation.de, 2018). The city of Cambridge had a population of 149,643 as of 2018. The city of Chelmsford had a population of 178,388 as of 2019 (Citypopulation.de. 2020). The city of Coventry had a population of 325,949 as of 2018 (Coventry.gov.uk, 2020). The city of Derby had a population of 264,263 in 2018 (Coventry.gov.uk, 2020). The county of Bangor had a population of 18,709 as of 2018 (Coventry.gov.uk, 2020). The county of Lancaster in 2018 had a population of 51,324 in 2018 (Coventry.gov.uk, 2020). And finally, London had a population of 8.9 million as of 2019 (Statista, 2020).
Coronavirus Cases and Deaths Reported in Selected Locations in the UK
According to Rodger (2020), Birmingham had reported the highest cases of Covid 19, as of July 6th 2020, reported cases stood at 4,797 while confirmed deaths stood at stood at 957. In the city of Brighton & Hove, 764 cases had been reported as of 2nd July 2020 with 36 fatalities (Hill, 2020). In Cambridge, recorded 220 people and 24 fatalities. In Chelmsford 349 cases reported with 43 fatalities. In Coventry 425 fatalities have been reported with 1,315 reported cases. In Derby 3,339 case have been reported with 671 fatalities. In Bangor cases have been reported with 19 fatalities. In Lancaster, total cases reported stood at 5,263 with 401 fatalities. Finally, London recorded 34,930 total cases with 6130 fatalities (London City Hall, 2020).
Analysis
The hypothesis of this study is that;
H1: There is a direct positive relationship between coronavirus infections and 5G towers
H2: There is a positive relationship between COVID 19 related deaths and 5G towers.
Prevalence
Prevalence in US on Total cases =
Prevalence in UK on Total Cases
From the analysis the US has higher prevalence of 1.47% compared to the UK which has 0.47%.
Figure 1.1: Infection rate between USA and UK per 1000 people
Figure 2.2: Coronavirus cases reported In the US between 6th of April 2020 to 11th of April 2020
Figure 3.3: Coronavirus cases reported In the UK between 6th of April 2020 to 11th of April 2020
Discussion
From figure 1.1, Infection rate in the US compared to the UK per 1000 people shows that U.S had the highest infection rate standing at 15.7 with UK trailing at only 4.7. Figure 2.2, the us experienced an almost constant number of infections between 6th of April to 11th of April while the number of infections in the UK kept fluctuating within the same period in figure 3.3. cities in the US reported high level of infection of the Virus and most of these cities are already equipped with 5G towers. The situation is different in cities that do not have these 5G network towers.
In terms of death, the selected cities have so far recorded 61,050 death in total while in the UK total deaths stand at 8,706 deaths. Going by the infection rate it is clear that the rate of infection is very high in the US compared to the UK. The US has seen continued surge in numbers of the cases when compared to the UK. There are countries that have raised concern over the effect of 5G network. There are claims that 5G network can cause diseases. In Switzerland, the plan to upgrade to 5G network was stopped over health issue concerns. To date however, there are scientific conclusion that can link coronavirus to 5G network and all that can be analyzed is the prevalence. Looking at the prevalence then we can accept the hypothesis that there is a connection between coronavirus and 5G network. However, it is important to conduct further analysis on the effect of having these 5G masts close to people. It is also important to investigate the effect of mmWave on human-body.
References
Birmingham Council, (2018). Birmingham Population | Population And Census | Birmingham City Council. [online] Birmingham.gov.uk. Available at: https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/info/20057/about_birmingham/1294/population_and_census/2
Brake, D., (2020). A US National Strategy for 5G and Future Wireless Innovation. Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.
Browne, R., 2020. UK Says It Will Ban China’s Huawei From 5G Networks In Major U-Turn. [online] CNBC. Available at: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/14/uk-says-it-will-phase-out-huawei-from-5g-networks-in-major-u-turn.html
Citypopulation.de. (2018). Brighton And Hove (Brighton And Hove, South East England, United Kingdom) – Population Statistics, Charts, Map, Location, Weather And Web Information. [online] Available at: https://www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/southeastengland/brighton_and_hove/E35000260__brighton_and_hove/
Citypopulation.de. (2020). Chelmsford (District, Essex, United Kingdom) – Population Statistics, Charts, Map And Location. [online] Citypopulation.de. Available at: https://www.citypopulation.de/php/uk-admin.php?adm2id=e07000070
Contreras, S., (2020). Here’s Every U.S. City With 5G Coverage Right Now. [online] Android Central. Available at: https://www.androidcentral.com/heres-every-us-city-5g-coverage-right-now
Coventry.gov.uk. (2020). Population | Population And Demographics | Coventry City Council. [online] Available at: https://www.coventry.gov.uk/info/195/facts_about_coventry/2435/population_and_demographics
Hill, A., (2020). Changes To Government Reporting Of Coronavirus Cases. [online] Brighton & Hove City Council. Available at: https://new.brighton-hove.gov.uk/news/2020/changes-government-reporting-coronavirus-cases
London City Hall. (2020). Coronavirus Numbers In London. [online] Available at: https://www.london.gov.uk/coronavirus/coronavirus-numbers-london
Rodger, J., 2020. Birmingham Has Highest Number Of Coronavirus Cases In England As Lockdown Lifted. [online] BirminghamLive. Available at: https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/birmingham-highest-number-coronavirus-cases-18553265
Statista. 2020. Population Of London 2019 | Statista. [online] Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/910658/population-of-london/
United State Census Bureau., (2019). US population
