THE REGULATION OF 5G IN THE D.D.L. “COMPETITION”: THE FAILURE TO RAISE THE CEILING ON ELECTROMAGNETIC EMISSIONS

For years, in Italy, there has been a discussion concerning the raising of the electromagnetic limits in such a way as to bring them into line with the EU average. Most of the operators in the sector, in fact, have raised objections and complaints regarding the fact that the lowest limits of the entire European panorama are in force in our country; limits which are equal to 6 v/m, compared to a continental average of 61 v/m. Unfortunately, however, the public decision-maker, despite the aforementioned data which would favor a clear decision in this regard, has never wanted to intervene and has always postponed this commitment: the new Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security, the three institutions most involved in the matter under discussion, have not been able to find an agreement to definitively ratify an increase in the aforementioned emissions.

In the new draft of the competent law, in fact, "Competition" does not include any reference to the limits for 5G. This time, it would have been the negative opinion of the League, contrary (especially with reference to its local component) to raising the current parameters. This last step, as mentioned above, is a necessary element in order to implement a serious and constructive development for the use of 5G which, as noted, is hindered more by legislation than by orographic difficulties. Having equal competitive conditions with all of Europe is a decisive issue for the development of the telecommunications sector in Italy: we need to resolve the issue of harmonizing electromagnetic limits which has characterized a significant delta between Italy and the other countries for some time, it is clear that the current national regulatory framework also has significant impacts on the possibility that Italy develops 5G networks throughout the national territory, capable of obtaining the expected performance from this technology, within the deadlines of 2026 dictated by national or community plans within the 2030.

The report "Changing competitive landscape in Italy, a look at 5G networks & operator strategies", prepared in March by OpenSignal, an independent analysis company specialized in measuring mobile signal strength, showed a rather disappointing result regarding the position held from our country in the context of the development of 5G, but it is also noted that Italy has a "highly dynamic" potential and seems to be slowly catching up with the other countries. Furthermore, the issue addressed is not only of significant importance from a purely b2b point of view, but also b2c, with consumers complaining about the poor performance of their network. Furthermore, from the point of view of measurement, Italy uses a method of measuring the limits which is different from the rest of Europe: our country, in fact, measures electromagnetic pollution on a 24-hour average, while the other countries on an average of 15 minutes; however, the 24-hour average gives lower results. It is therefore clear that using such a calculation method, the limits measured in Italy are not and can never be subjected to a reliable comparison with the limits calculated in other countries.

Moving on to the analysis of the Italian legislation on the protection of citizens with reference to electromagnetic emissions, this is much more stringent than the recommendations provided by the European Union on the subject of protecting the population from exposure to electromagnetic fields. However, such an attitude appears to be anchored more to a purely cultural question than to a serious and effective cost-benefit analysis. In fact, it is useful to underline how the international guidelines concerning the protection of individuals from exposure to electromagnetic fields, also referred to by the recommendation of the Council of the European Union 1999/519, apply a fifty-fold reduction factor to the electromagnetic power which it could produce potentially harmful effects, demonstrating an already high level of attention to precautionary bills; Italian legislation, on the other hand, applies a further precautionary margin, equal to 100 times, bringing the reduction factor applied in our country to a total of 5,000: and it is precisely because of the imposition of these limitations that Italian operators are forced to create a network characterized by a higher territorial density and, consequently, bearing an increase in the relative costs, a lengthening of the expectations relating to the times of construction of the plants and, above all, a greater negative environmental impact. For all these valid reasons and in the light of the now proven theses elaborated by the scientific community regarding the validity of the established limits in the international arena, inherent to the effectiveness of the latter with regard to radiation protection, Italian operators have long been requesting the harmonization of national limits with those recommended at international level.

The current historical phase is inevitably marked by a radical transformation of business models, a transformation which inevitably forces companies to play an increasingly proactive role in building the digital ecosystem. 5G networks will be increasingly relevant in various sectors: in the industrial field, for logistics, for utilities, for public administration, for the health and training sector: for this reason, therefore, 5G represents a fundamental link between innovation and sustainability.

From this point of view, it is essential that the exploitation of investments by operators is not prevented or hindered, above all by the public decision-maker, investments which are, among other things, preparatory to the realization of a technological and infrastructural effort which would benefit the whole "Country System": to do this, however, it is necessary to be able to compete adequately and on equal terms on European and international markets.