The anti-5G movement has ramped up in recent weeks with a raft of vandalism against mobile masts in the UK and the Netherlands. Belgium also joined countries such as Switzerland and Austria where local authorities are holding back the 5G roll-out on health concerns. This makes clear that public concerns about 5G need to be taken seriously, and the industry needs to do more to combat the lies and rumours with hard facts. This means taking legal action against the vandalism as well as more education and public engagement on the science behind 5G.
Around 20 mobile antenna sites have been attacked in the UK and another 14 in the Netherlands. Not all were particularly serious, but in some cases the cell site was disabled for several hours, leaving local areas without access to services (including emergency numbers). One affected site in the UK also covered one of the emergency hospitals set up to treat Covid-19 patients, according to Vodafone.
This may be random vandalism, but some cases show a clear link to opposition to 5G, based on slogans left at the site or videos emerging on social media. Reports in the Netherlands point to an anti-5G Facebook group with 33,000 members that cheered on the arson. The Stop5G movement has already tried to distance itself from the vandalism, saying it supports only peaceful protest.
There appears to be a link between the attacks and conspiracy theories circulating on social media of a link between 5G and the coronavirus outbreak. Any such link has been roundly dismissed by authorities, such as the Dutch expertise centre on electromagnetic fields, which called the claims “clearly nonsense” as viruses cannot be spread by radio waves.
Nevertheless, the attacks set a dangerous precedent, which could spread to other countries. In the immediate term, there is the risk of a disruption to services and critical communications, such as calls to 112. Mobile operators need to act quickly to denounce the attacks and ensure police and prosecutors take the crimes seriously, in order to discourage copycats.5G health concerns
While the attacks may be new, concerns about 5G are not. The DACH countries (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) have faced public opposition for over a year to 5G roll-outs, which has led to some local authorities slowing authorisations for new antennas. Austria and Switzerland are both working on new legal advice on the health effects of 5G and related electromagnetic fields.
The opposition in the DACH countries emerged as operators started launching their networks in 2019. Worryingly, the more recent opposition in the Netherlands and Belgium started before 5G networks were even in place. There are no active 5G networks in the Netherlands, only a handful of pilot tests. In Belgium, Proximus was the first to launch 5G using existing spectrum from 01 April, but was forced to quickly back track after municipalities complained they had not been consulted in advance.
More powerful antennas
Public concerns centre on a possible increase in radiation from more powerful, multidirectional antennas as well as a greater number of antennas required for the dense coverage and high-band spectrum used by 5G. A survey by the Telecompaper Consumer Insights panel in September 2019 found that 7 percent of the Dutch were very worried about RF exposure from 5G and another 27 percent somewhat worried. That compares to only 3 percent very concerned about existing 3G/4G networks. Most often they say they are worried about more intense RF emissions.
Notably a large share admitted that they don’t know how this works. Furthermore, when asked about other risks to human health, they placed things like smoking and air pollution higher, with 5G ranking only ninth in the list of risks.
Local, international action
Several countries are working on a response to the concerns. The Dutch government said in February that it was contacted by municipalities facing questions from residents about rules on placing 5G antennas. It pointed to the latest scientific evidence from bodies such as the WHO and the Health Council and measurements by the Telecom Agency that show 5G is well within the maximum RF exposure limits. It’s also working on implementing the latest EU telecom regulations on small cells to give municipalities more clarity over how to treat the new networks and ordered an independent study into the potential consequences for local authorities.
The French government has taken an active approach to testing 5G equipment ahead of the start of commercial services. The spectrum agency ANFR just published the first results of its research in the 3.5 GHz band, which show RF exposure is far below the maximum prescribed limits. In the UK, where 5G services started last year already, Ofcom found the same in its tests, with the maximum exposure just 1.5 percent of the limits recommended by ICNIRP.
ICNIRP is an independent expert group that has helped set standards for electromagnetic exposure since the start of mobile networks. It recently updated its RF guidelines for 5G, after a comprehensive review of the scientific literature available, and found the new networks are well below the already conservative limits on mobile radio emissions.
While government bodies lead on the regulatory front and gathering test data, the industry cannot stand still in the face of the growing 5G opposition. To start, the vandalism needs to be condemned and prosecuted. This should be followed by concerted efforts to combat the spread of fake news and conspiracy theories and provide the public with clear information and an ongoing discussion of the health concerns.
Efforts are already underway to scrub the 5G fake news from social media, supported by the broader effort to ensure people have access to accurate information about the coronavirus pandemic. Beyond that, the mobile industry needs to take the public concerns about 5G seriously and engage with stakeholders, from municipalities to consumer groups, to ensure the latest scientific information is available in an accessible format. Dismissing the protests as a few crackpots would be a serious mistake. The 5G roll-out will be slowed already by the Covid-19 restrictions, and if the new technology is ever to be a success, more pro-active awareness campaigns will be needed to re-assure the public.
