Switzerland: Resistance to 5G antennas grows nationwide

Everyone wants fast Internet, even on the go - but no one wants a 5G antenna in the garden. Resistance is increasing nationwide - including in the canton of Schwyz.

Resistance to 5G antennas
hoefner.ch, April 8, 2024 - auto-translation

A 5G antenna - here from the mobile phone provider Sunrise.

It's a nationwide trend: When it comes to building a 5G antenna, there's a hail of objections. The three Swiss mobile phone providers Swisscom, Salt and Sunrise can tell you a thing or two about it. According to Swisscom, around 3,000 such projects from all providers are currently pending or blocked due to objections. The canton of Schwyz is no exception. The Schwyz Office for the Environment and Energy has recorded an enormous increase since the introduction of the 5G standard - as head of office Peter Inhelder explains upon request. Most objections come from private parties and have a health-related background. However, getting away with it with such arguments is very unlikely. The same federal regulations and limit values ​​for non-ionizing radiation (NIS) apply to the installation and operation of 5G antennas as to all mobile communications systems - and these are stricter in Switzerland than in other European countries. And compliance with these regulations is regularly checked by the cantons.

Peter Inhelder sees a strong emotional factor behind the concerns about 5G. And the resistance is like trying to square the circle. Because the demand for fast, mobile internet is growing and with it the need for mobile phone antennas with the 5G standard. But nobody wants them in their neighborhood.
Recently, a legal tug of war offered the plans for a 5G mobile antenna on the roof of the retirement home Tertianum Huob in Pfäffikon. In Schübelbach in the spring of 2022, widespread resistance formed in the population against such an antenna not far from the station - including a petition (we reported). You could add many more of these two examples. And they have one thing in common: Resistance is mostly formed on the private side. And it is increasing.

Often "health" arguments

This was also confirmed by an inquiry at the Schwyz Office for the Environment and Energy. The canton of Schwyz has observed an enormous increase in objections against mobile phone antennas since the introduction of 5G. «In the meantime, no antenna project will succeed without intervention», it explains.

According to Peter Inhelder, the reasons are often «health» in nature. The interrogators fear that the antenna will cause health disadvantages. «Such justifications hardly stand a chance of preventing a planned antenna», he explains and points to the NISV. Inhelder, however, does not want to discredit such concerns. Antennas are a problem for people who are genuinely electrosensitive. But these are very rare. He therefore sees a strong emotional factor behind the reservations to 5G.

A few objections relate to building law reservations. According to Inhelder, these are more likely to get through.

Switzerland-wide trend

The canton of Schwyz is by no means an isolated case with this development. "It's a nationwide phenomenon," he says. An inquiry to Swisscom AG confirms this. Across the industry, i.e. from all mobile phone providers in total, around 3,000 mobile phone projects are pending or even blocked in a licensing procedure.

Part of original article in German:

https://www.hoefner.ch/2024/04/08/widerstand-gegen-5g-masten/