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by thatcat 2620 days ago
Smaller/lighter/faster phones and battery banks are already available, without 5g. Why do you need 5g specifically? It's value has to exceed the value it destroys. Not all tech developments are net improvements.
1 comments

Because they'll be even smaller/lighter/faster. That's what efficiency gets you. 5G is more efficient. There's really nothing else to say.
So is it worth rolling out globally a very expensive new network which will cause negative externalities for that?
That depends on whether the expected benefits greatly exceeds the costs of the new network and can offset the supposed negative externalities.

   expected benefits >> costs + supposed negative externalities
You could just as easily have switched those words and that would make just as much sense.

supposed benefits << cost and expected negitive externalities

And that is why everyone is asking the question, rather than blindly accepting 5G as a desirable thing.
This all seems kind of funny to me because these are almost the exact same arguments on why power lines are bad. They kill trees, they kill bugs, they cause kids to be hyper, they cause kids to be depressed, they cause cancer, they misalign the resonant frequency of your brain. A hundred years later I still hear the same arguments but never once has anything borne out.

Can I get an argument against the 5G standard that doesn't amount to, "This may cause harm through an unknowable secondary mechanism despite roughly 100 years of evidence that it is safe."

Infrastructure is intrusive and imposes problems on the poorest people and wildlife who are forced to live near it, I'm not sure why you find that funny. The difference is people need power, not 5g.

If you don't need it then why would you do it? There is no need for an argument to not waste money on useless infrastructure. E.g. Why not build only 4 lane highways instead of a side streets? Because it's unnecessary.

The burden is on you to justify the expense and I don't see any clear justifications as to how this is in anyone's best interest outside of the telcos and <5% of users.

Everyone buying new phones and changing the infrastructure for marginal gains sounds super efficient.
That will happen anyways.