by Quentin Bohlen, Delphine Sage, Bastien von Wyss, RTS, swissinfo.ch, 17 June 2024
(Photo): Installing a 5G antenna in Bern. © Keystone / Peter Klaunzer
5G has been in full development in Switzerland since the end of 2020, and new so-called adaptive antennas are being built, RTS writesExternal link. These will make it possible to communicate with new-generation phones in a directional manner. Given that they transmit less widely, the question was whether they could transmit more loudly.
This decision is being taken politically, behind the scenes, by a working group made up of representatives of operators, federal offices, the Doctors for the Environment group, and the cantons. The crucial point in the discussions is the setting of the “K factor”. This is the figure that will allow operators to increase the power of directional antennas or not.
After consultation, the parties involved were unable to reach an agreement. Doctors for the Environment does not want any increase in power. The Federal Office for the Environment would like to allow operators to set directional antennas to a maximum of four times the legal power. The operators want to be able to set the power at 15 times more. And the Federal Office of Communications has even agreed to go as high as 20 times.
At a meeting between the department and the offices chaired by then Communications Minister Simonetta Sommaruga on December 16, 2020, it was decided that these adaptive antennas would be able to transmit at ten times the power of conventional antennas during peak periods. This is on condition that the average over six minutes does not exceed the value of conventional antennas.
This decision goes in the direction of the operators who, during discussions within the working group, put forward the figure of “times ten”.
This decision is being taken politically, behind the scenes, by a working group made up of representatives of operators, federal offices, the Doctors for the Environment group, and the cantons. The crucial point in the discussions is the setting of the “K factor”. This is the figure that will allow operators to increase the power of directional antennas or not.
After consultation, the parties involved were unable to reach an agreement. Doctors for the Environment does not want any increase in power. The Federal Office for the Environment would like to allow operators to set directional antennas to a maximum of four times the legal power. The operators want to be able to set the power at 15 times more. And the Federal Office of Communications has even agreed to go as high as 20 times.
At a meeting between the department and the offices chaired by then Communications Minister Simonetta Sommaruga on December 16, 2020, it was decided that these adaptive antennas would be able to transmit at ten times the power of conventional antennas during peak periods. This is on condition that the average over six minutes does not exceed the value of conventional antennas.
This decision goes in the direction of the operators who, during discussions within the working group, put forward the figure of “times ten”.
Economic stakes
The challenge of increasing the power of these 5G antennas is the development of the 5G network. The documents obtained by RTS contain figures on which the communications ministry wanted to remain discreet. These figures show that if these new antennas cannot transmit any louder, 46,000 more would have to be built, whereas with the operators’ solution, the number falls to 3,100 antennas to be built. The reality today is somewhere in between.
According to Doctors for the Environment, the effects on health could be harmful. This is why they did not want this correction factor.
“The new dynamic of exposure to radiation from adaptive antennas represents a potential danger for us that has not yet been fully studied. This is why, from our point of view as doctors, maintaining the level of protection is not guaranteed with the planned correction factor. It is important to us that neither the implementation aid nor the explanations and press releases give the impression that the level of protection required by law is being maintained for the planned regulation,” reads a letter from Doctors for the Environment to Sommaruga on December 14, 2020.
Political issues
RTS asked the communications ministry to comment on these decisions, to which it initially replied: “The correction factor was determined on the basis of scientific measurements carried out in the field by the Federal Offices for the Environment and Communications. These measurements confirmed that adaptive antennas radiate less than conventional antennas. This made it possible to set the correction factor at -10 dB while maintaining the level of health protection. In all cases, the limit values must be respected by the antennas.”
It added: “As in many areas, the decisions taken on the subject of adaptive antennas are the result of a balancing of interests. The authorities are responding to society’s needs in terms of digitisation, while at the same time ensuring that the health of the population is protected.”
As for the reasons why the communications ministry decided to take a step towards the industry, or why it decided not to follow the lead of its environment office, which is responsible for protecting the health of the population, in making this type of decision, the department sidestepped the question: “The political questions you are asking concern a management team that is no longer in place and has conducted its own reflections.”
It should be noted that the new management team, under the aegis of the new Communications Minister Albert Rösti, will soon be communicating on the implementation of a motion aimed at creating the general conditions conducive to the rapid deployment of 5G. It is therefore possible that politics will soon get things moving again.
Translated from French by DeepL/ts
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss-politics/power-of-5g-antennas-revealed-as-political-decision/80645770
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