Road accidents kill 1.2 million people globally a year and injured 40 times this number. Yet motor vehicles are streaming out of the factories every day and Malaysia has our own national car.

Smoking killed 3 million people worldwide. Yet smoking is allowed in most, if not all, countries. Why should smoking not banned?

There is yet confirmed evidence that WiFi and WiMAX had killed any people.

If there is any objection to the WiFi@Penang and the WiMAX@Penang projects, it must be from the competitors or opposition of the Penang government. Forget about politics and politicians here. Perhaps the CAT government should call for a public tender for all possible players to submit their proposals or tenders, with a report on health risk from using their equipment.

Also the CAT government should also publish the reasons that these private sectors are willing to do it for free. Perhaps they are like the SUN newspaper, hoping to get revenue and income enough from advertising to pay for the capital and maintenance cost besides making a handsome profit. Make it TRANSPARENT and explain the full fact to the Penang people.

Broadband service, especially efficient and free ones, is very important for the development of Penang. We need it for free and easy access to the Internet, to do e-business, to communicate, to study and do research online. Please proceed to implement these projects unless there is concrete evidence, particularly on health risk. suggesting otherwise. The foreign investors and tourists certainly welcome such free broadband connection.

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6676129.stm

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Here’s an article to counter this…

Wi-fi health fears are ‘unproven’

Wireless working is becoming part of daily life
Scientists have said there is no evidence to suggest a link between the use of wi-fi and damage to health.
BBC programme Panorama found that radiation levels from wi-fi in one school was up to three times the level of mobile phone mast radiation.

The readings were 600 times below the government’s safety limits but there is ongoing debate about wi-fi use.

Sir William Stewart, chairman of the Health Protection Agency, has said there needs to be a review of wi-fi.

He told Panorama that there was evidence that low-level radiation – from devices like mobile phones and wi-fi – did cause adverse health effects.

But some experts in the scientific community have disagreed with his assessment.

“Wi-fi seems unlikely to pose any risk to health,” said Professor Lawrie Challis, of Nottingham University.

Prof Challis, chairman of the Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research (MTHR) programme management committee, said: “Wi-fi exposures are usually very small – the transmitters are low power and some distance from the body.

“They can be near to the body, however, when a laptop is on one’s lap and my own view is that just as we encourage young children not to use mobile phones we should also encourage them to use their laptops on a table rather than their lap, if they are going online for a long time.”

As part of its investigation, Panorama visited a school in Norwich, with more than 1,000 pupils, to compare the level of radiation from a typical mobile phone mast with that of wi-fi in the classroom.

Readings taken for the programme, broadcast on BBC One on Monday, showed the height of wi-fi signal strength to be three times higher in the school classroom than the main beam of radiation intensity from a mobile phone mast.

Greatest intensity

Sir William recommended to the government in 2002 that the beam of greatest intensity from a phone mast should not fall on any part of the school grounds, unless the school and parents agreed to it.

Wireless working is becoming more popular

Medical physics expert Professor Malcolm Sperrin told BBC News that the fact wi-fi radiation in a particular school was three times higher than a mobile phone mast was irrelevant, unless there was any evidence of a link to health effects.

“Wi-fi is a technique using very low intensity radio waves. Whilst similar in wavelength to domestic microwave radiation, the intensity of wi-fi radiation is 100,000 times less than that of a domestic microwave oven.

“Furthermore, tissue can only be effectively heated by a wavelength that is closely matched to the absorption, and there are strict guidelines for ensuring such absorption peaks are avoided.”

The type of radiation emitted by radio waves (wi-fi), visible light, microwaves and mobile phones has been shown to raise the temperature of tissue at very high levels of exposure – called a thermal interaction – but there is no evidence that low levels cause damage.

The Health Protection Agency has said that sitting in a wi-fi hotspot for a year results in receiving the same dose of radio waves as making a 20-minute mobile phone call.

“Some people suspect a non-thermal interaction but there is no evidence to suggest that this exists and indeed it is unlikely,” said Prof Sperrin.

Research proceeding

He added: “Radio waves (wi-fi) and other non-ionising radiations have been part of our lives for a century or more and if such effects were occurring then damage or other untoward effects would have been recorded and studied.

It’s impossible to prove that something has no effect

Professor Malcolm Sperrin

Q&A: Wi-fi safety concerns

“Research is still proceeding in this area at leading centres in many countries but evidence points to wi-fi transmissions being well below any likely threshold for human effects.”

Panorama spoke to Professor Olle Johansson, of the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, who said there had been many recorded effects such as chromosome damage from low-level radiation.

Professor Henry Lai, from Washington state university, also quoted in Panorama, said he had found health effects at similar levels of radiation to wi-fi.

He estimated that of the two to three thousand studies carried out over the last 30 years, there is a 50-50 split – half finding an effect with the other half finding no effect at all.

But Professor Will J Stewart, fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, said: “Science has studied the safety of mobile phones for many years and the overwhelming body of evidence shows little cause for concern.

“As for wi-fi, although these devices operate at a modestly different frequency to mobiles they also operate at a lower power level over a much shorter-range.

‘No issue’

“Add to the fact that high-bandwidth wi-fi devices are less likely to be head-mounted and there really is no issue here.

“This is not to say that all electromagnetic radiation is necessarily harmless – sunlight, for example, poses a significant cancer risk; so if you are using your laptop on the beach make sure and get some shade.”

Professor Sperrin said one of the difficulties around wi-fi research was that it was impossible to prove a negative.

“It’s impossible to prove that something has no effect,” he said.

He said there was no justification in discarding wi-fi until it could be proved unsafe.

“The educational benefits from using laptops and having access to information far outweigh any unproven fears over the safety of wi-fi. I am more concerned about the heat laptops generate and the impact that could on sensitive parts of the body.”

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go check it out…

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The retired couple from Scotland living to my right doesn’t need it la; the retired couple from Korea living to my left also don’t need it la. For our future generations issit?

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What are the hidden costs (besides possibly being fried by the RF waves)?

* Who pay for it (installation, operation, bandwidth, maintenance, upgrade)?
* How are they paying for it?
* From what sources are the funding from (upfront and ongoing)?

* What kind of contracts are being written between the Penang government and the private contractors?
* For how long a period is the contract?
* Will the Penang government make the proposals, plans, contracts available online for all to see (CAT)?

* What happens when too many people are using it?
* What happens when it stiffles fair competition with Streamyx, PenangFon, and other new providers?

* Although cheap up front, what are the chances of the government paying too much later?
* What are the chances of paying too little and getting low-quality service later?

—

Although I am generally in favor of the WiFi idea, the CM’s response in this MalaysiaKini.com article below leaves much to be desired. Why so negative, especially in the last few paragraphs?

Either the CM is a jerk, or the writer was intentionally painting him in a bad light, or trying to provoke a controversy.

“CM hits back at ‘wireless’ critics”
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/90392

The Penang government wants the opponents of its free wireless cyber initiative – the Wifi and Wimax projects – to move out of the way of the state’s technological advancement drive.
MCPX

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng was critical of the certain quarters who have raised concerns against the state cyber initiative on health grounds.

He said the Wifi and Wimax projects were to benefit all Penangites.

“This is in line with the state goal to turn Penang into an advanced international city in the next few years. I can’t understand why are they objecting against technological advancement,” he told newsmen at the preview of Wimax@Penang, jointly presented by the state government and Packet One Network (M) Sdn Bhd at the Penang Development Corporation (PDC)

The chief minister also slammed the group for merely opposing the projects without producing any evidence to support their claim that wireless systems were hazardous to public health.

“Until today no one has proven that wireless system endangers health,” he said when asked about the objections raised by a group of residents in George Town.

Last Saturday, a small group of residents in Georgetown, calling themselves ‘concerned residents’ argued that the health impact of Wifi was parallel to that caused by telecommunication transmission towers, which have always been a target of protest by local residents for the past decade.

Launched last Friday, The ‘Penang free Wifi’ was the first step in making Penang the country’s first Wifi state.

The initiative, which is the first component of the state’s Wireless@Penang project, is aimed at giving Penangites free wireless internet service across the state in the next 24 months.

The project is undertaken by content manager REDtone Telecommunications Sdn Bhd and service enabler Hotgate Technology (M) Sdn Bhd, which will set up 750 wireless access points over the next one year.

As part of the Penang wireless project, Wimax@Penang project is to provide free wireless broadband services for all internet users.

The project is undertaken by Packet One (P1), subsidiary of public listed Green Packet Bhd, in a partnership with the state government.

P1 aims at least 75 percent wireless broadband population coverage by 2009 with at least 25 percent of Penangites using the broadband service.

Be more realistic

Meanwhile, Lim urged critics to be more realistic and not to stand in the state government’s way of transforming Penang into a technologically vibrant, progressive and dynamic state.

He said the wireless internet service would boost the state business fundamentals and help lure foreign investments.

“I cannot understand why and what they are protesting about. The wireless projects will surely benefit all Penangites, its economy growth and develop a strong pool of cyber workforce,” he said.

Asked whether the state government has carried out any health study prior to the implementation of the projects, he said it would not be necessary since wireless service had never been proven by anyone as a health hazard despite numerous researches carried out worldwide over the years.

He also brushed aside as ‘unrealistic’ the suggestions that the state government should have consulted the public before implementing the projects.

“Don’t tell me, the state government has to consult the public each time it wants to carry out beneficial infrastructure projects, such as Wifi, Wimax, roads, schools and hospitals?” he asked.

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Dear Readers,
We need to understand what’s the ultimate objective. Some say WiFi radiation leads to health hazard. Then what???

Dear Anil,
Any comments on the nuclear thingy in Malaysia? Honestly, I am extremely more concerned about that

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