The city’s own radiation regulations are eased by presidential order.
Brussels, the capital of Belgium, is finally on track to launch 5G services, with the service expected to start as early as September this year.
Local media reports have confirmed that major legislative work has been completed to ensure that antennas will eventually be upgraded or replaced to deliver 5G across the Brussels region from September.
According to De Tijd (subscription) and the Brussels Times, a presidential decree authorizing the deployment of 5G antennas was published in the Official Journal following parliamentary approval for the relaxation earlier this year.
The move ends the blockade of 5G in municipalities that has been in place since 5G trials were blocked in 2019.
Network operators such as Proximus, Telenet-Base and Orange can now apply to the Brussels Environmental Management Authority for a license to operate 5G antennas. Response times are reported to be approximately 30 days to 8 weeks.
While many existing antennas can be quickly upgraded from 4G, it could take a year for the entire capital to have 5G coverage. According to media reports, the new regulations will set an emission standard of 14.5V/m or less, up from the current limit of 6V/m. This poses interesting deployment challenges for network builders. So far, only Orange has installed his 3.5GHz antenna on a small number of sites.
Brussels’ unique stance has managed to ignore a seven-year investigation into the sub-6GHz spectrum by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), which concluded there is no evidence that 5G mobile networks pose a threat to human health. It was born as a result of politics.
This year, Ofcom in the UK found that EMF levels near mobile phone base stations are within internationally agreed levels, with the highest level being approximately 7.1% of the ICNIRP standard level and the next highest level being 1.5%. discovered.
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Some politicians expressed relief on social media. “I have been working on her 5G promotion for many years. Good news, it has finally come. It is a necessary condition to make Brussels a truly smart city,” she said, CD&V Party Leader Bianca Divac posted on her LinkedIn.
“After a long wait, the capital has finally introduced the final regulatory framework to enable 5G antennas. The presidential decree enabling the effective deployment of 5G was finally published in the Belgian Official Gazette at the end of June. Published,” Brussels city councilor Aurelie Czekalski wrote on Twitter.
