8. Conclusions

For the deployment of 5G, it is imperative that the calculation method, set in the implementation orders, be adapted in order to take the massive MIMO antennas into account. This applies to the Flemish and Walloon regions, but also to the Brussels-Capital Region.
The 6 V/m standard does not allow to deal with the expected increase in mobile data traffic, regardless of the technology used to transport this data. It does not allow to ensure a future high-performing quality network with the technologies that are used today. Adding new transmission sites will certainly allow to somewhat ease the problems. However, besides the extra cost for the operator, and consequently, in the end, for the user, the construction of new antennas will remain difficult and will not provide an effective solution. Without any modification of the radiation standard in Brussels, network coverage and the ability of networks to simultaneously cover the needs of a large number of users will be significantly affected.

The 6 V/m standard does not allow to deploy 5G in Brussels. 5G alone should be able to generate at least as much radiation as what is generated by the technologies that are currently in use.

It is hardly imaginable to abandon 2G or 3G in the short term. In all cases, abandoning 2G and 3G before deploying 5G is not realistic. Anyway, the disappearance of the 2G and 3G technologies would not allow to make room for 5G.
BIPT strongly advises against a cumulative limit under 14.5 V/m at a frequency of 900 MHz. A conservative limit of 14.5 V/m should only allow the start of a minimum deployment of 5G in Brussels under conditions that are relatively similar to the deployment conditions of 4G in recent years, which have proven to be insufficient. Furthermore, the 14.5 V/m limit is a threshold that will have to be rapidly revised upwards as it will impose a limit to the current evolution in terms of data consumption, which will lead to a congestion at the level of the radio access to the network quicker than in other locations. Finally, the conservative limit of 14.5V/m implies that massive MIMO antennas are taken into account by applying a corrective factor of 6dB.

Therefore, BIPT proposes to adopt the standard above 14.5V/m and up to 41.5V/m. The closer we get to the European standard, the more it will guarantee the capacity and the quality of mobile networks, and it will thus also ensure the user experience for the final clients. This will allow us to be among the European leaders concerning the deployment of 5G.