A 5G trial by Melita showed a “negligible” increase in radiation emission levels from radiowaves, the company’s CEO Harald Roesch said on Tuesday. 

The company started the trial at its data centre in Madliena and plans further trials in Valletta, St Julian’s and Sliema. 

Prior to the test, Melita measured radiation emitted by radio waves from all telecom operators, TV broadcasters and other sources at 282 locations.

The Melita CEO said emission levels across the country clocked in at less than one hundredth of what the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) considers safe in all but one of the sites tested. 

The 5g transmitter seen at the bottom right corner.

He said that while there had been a lot of unfounded scaremongering about 5G, that did not mean that Melita should not proceed with caution and ensure that emissions were well within globally accepted levels set by ICNIRP.

Roesch said when the 5G was switched on at the initial test site in Madliena, the increase in emissions was negligible, meaning total emissions remained below one hundredth of the ICNIRP guideline levels. 

These initial findings match the data gathered in similar tests carried out in the United Kingdom by the national regulator, Ofcom. 

Melita’s chief technology officer, Simon Montanaro, said the technology being used for the 5G infrastructure is provided by Ericsson.

He said the trial is being closely monitored by the Malta Communications Authority which will be measuring emissions using its own equipment. 

5G allows for speeds of up to 1 Gb/s and the connection of up to 10 time more concurrent devices when compared to 4G.

The European Commission has set targets for the rollout of the technology across the EU. 

The results of Melita’s emissions testing can be found on www.melita.com/5Gtrial .