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reachspike's avatar

Verizon spent $45.5 billion at auction to the FCC for the spectrum to use for its 5G service, and AT&T spent $23.4 billion, so nothing is going to stop them, least of all the FCC. These grand projects roll forward on inertia and fear – if Verizon and AT&T don’t move then their competitors will. And decisions seem to made on compulsion rather than thoughtfulness. It seems especially true in this case.

Really, who the hell needs 5G? 4G, which is probably bad enough healthwise and environmentally, can be speeded up greatly. It’s known as 4G LTE (Long Term Extensible), which is jargon for it having been designed to be improved upon for a considerable length of time. The sci-fi scenarios which are put forth to justify 5G, such as remote surgery and total control of self-driving car traffic, only require about two minutes of reflection to be revealed as ridiculous and something that will never, ever be possible.

OK, at trade shows and sporting events 5G will make it possible for everyone to have cell phone service and internet. Hardly a justification for the horrors that may await. In a person’s typical life I cannot see how this can provide any enhancement at all, and yet the public is constantly being bombarded by tech writers who prompt it to eagerly await the “next big thing”, without any kind of convincing rationale, and the public just seems to lap it up.

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Jordan Merhib's avatar

The internet is the secular humanist "holy spirit". Those who know the real holy spirit will see the parallels: the need to be connected always, checking in for guidance and reassurance regularly, confidence that we can find our answers any time we ask, etc. The Tower of Babel was interrupted to delay man's construction of a monument to ourselves. Have we finally arrived at the crowning moment of the new one?

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