Unique radiation rules relaxed in the city as executive order published
Belgium’s capital Brussels is finally on course to launch 5G services, with the service set to go live as early as this September.
Local media reports have confirmed the main legislative work has been completed to ensure antennas will finally be upgraded or replaced to distribute 5G throughout the Brussels region from September.
According to De Tijd (subscription) and the Brussels Times, the executive order allowing for the deployment of 5G antennas has now been published in the official journal, following parliamentary approval for the relaxation earlier this year.
The move ends the block on 5G in the municipality which has been around since 5G pilots were blocked in 2019.
Network operators such as Proximus, Telenet-Base and Orange and can now apply to the Brussels environment administration for a licence to operate 5G antennas. The response time is reportedly around 30 days to eight weeks.
While many existing antennas can be upgraded from 4G quickly, it could be a year before the whole capital has 5G coverage. Media reports suggests the new rules will set an emissions standard of 14.5 volts per meter or less, up from the current limit of 6 V/m. This will pose interesting rollout challenges for the network builders – only Orange has so far installed 3.5GHz antennas on a small number of sites.
Brussel’s unique stance resulted from its febrile politics which managed to overlook The International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection’s (ICNIRP) seven-year study into sub-6GHz spectrum, concluding there was no evidence that 5G mobile networks pose any threat to human health.
This year the UK’s Ofcom found EMF levels near mobile phone base stations were well within the internationally agreed levels, with the highest level being approximately 7.1% of the ICNIRP reference levels and the next highest level being 1.5%.
Dragging the cart
Some politicians took to social media to express their relief. “I’ve been pulling the cart for 5G for years. Good news, it’s finally coming. A necessary condition to make Brussels a real Smart City,” CD&V party leader Bianca Debaets posted on LinkedIn.
“Long overdue, the capital has finally put in place the final regulatory framework to activate 5G antennas. The executive decrees enabling the effective deployment of 5G were finally published in the Belgian Official Gazette at the end of June,” Brussels MP Aurélie Czekalski, wrote on Twitter.