Rogers Communications Inc., with 10.9 million customers for its wireless, cable TV, phone, and Internet services, announced plans to buy the $5.34-billion Shaw Communications Inc. for $16 billion.
The resulting company will spend C$2 billion over five years to spread 5G wireless networks across Canada and C$1 billion to bring high-speed Internet service to rural and remote indigenous communities, the two Canadian telecoms giants pledged in the deal’s announcement.
Consumer groups have decried the merger, claiming the Canadian telecommunications market is already controlled by a few large companies and that the union of Rogers and Shaw will limit consumer choice further.
The blended companies will increase the competitiveness of Canada’s economy, Rogers CEO Joe Natale countered in comments during a phone call with analysts cited by the Wall Street Journal.
“The conversation is really about nation-building,” he said.
By February, 49 Canadian cities were networked with 5G gear, fewer than Spain, South Korea, and the U.K., according to Viavi, a telecoms service firm.
China leads the world with 341 cities networked for 5G; the U.S. has 279, Viavi reported.
5G works at speeds a hundred times faster than 4G, which developers say is necessary to manage an Internet of Things, roads with a growing number of self-driving cars, and factories staffed by robots.
TRENDPOST: We note this article for two reasons. First, to illustrate the merger of the Bigs getting bigger, and secondly, the lack of concern regarding the number of scientists that have raised concerns about 5G’s apparent impacts on human health.
As we wrote in the Trends Journal back in December 2019:
The four major corporate U.S. corporations – Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile – have been lobbying to cash in on the new generation of wireless service craze, installing thousands of cell antennas on telephone and light poles and rooftops to sell the new, 5G compatible smartphones.
According to the FCC, “No expert health agency expressed concern about the Commission’s RF [radio frequency] exposure limits.”
This statement ignores significant evidence to the contrary. A year ago, National Toxicology Program researchers said they found “clear evidence that cell-phone radiation exposure can cause cancerous heart tumors in male rats.”
Last October, more than 240 scientists in 43 countries, who have published peer-reviewed research on the biological and health effects of nonionizing electromagnetic fields (EMF), signed the “International EMF Scientist Appeal.” This document states:
“Numerous recent scientific publications have shown that EMF affects living organisms at levels well below most international and national guidelines. Effects include increased cancer risk, cellular stress, increase in harmful free radicals, genetic damages, structural and functional changes of the reproductive system, learning and memory deficits, neurological disorders, and negative impacts on general well-being in humans.”
A recent lead article in Scientific American was titled, “We Have No Reason to Believe 5G is Safe.”
There are over 100 peer-reviewed scientific studies that claim a strong link between radiation emitted by cell phones to cancer, crib death, DNA damage, and male infertility.
