Connecting Bristol » Expert Debate Panorama Wi-Fi Dangers

Expert Debate Panorama Wi-Fi Dangers

May 21, 2007 Posted by Stephen Hilton in : Digital Challenge , trackback

Tonight’s BBC Panorama programme will call for research into the potential dangers of Wi-Fi. Researchers claim to have found the maximum signal strength one metre from a wi-fi-enabled laptop in a classroom in Norwich was three times that measured 100 metres away from a mobile phone mast nearby.

However, The Guardian carries a report rejecting the investigation as “grossly unscientific” and a “scare story”. The Guardian suggests that scientists generally believe that Wi-Fi ought to be safer than mobile phone radiation because Wi-Fi devices transmit over shorter distances and so can operate at lower power. The Health Protection Agency says a person sitting within a Wi-Fi hotspot for a year receives the same dose of radio waves as a person using a mobile phone for 20 minutes.

This is sure to be an emotive issue for some parents, students and teachers. This Bristol blog is inviting teaschers and others to share their views.

If you missed the programme you can watch again here