Up until now, Switzerland was in the lead of the international 5G race. Sadly, this position might be in jeopardy, due to the growing objections regarding the installment of antennas in the community.

Despite of these setbacks, Swisscom, Switzerland’s largest telecom provider, is sticking to its goal of covering 90% of Switzerland with 5G mobile network by the end of the year. The company is not blind to the situation thought- “If further delays occur, we run the risk of no longer being able to cope with the enormous growth in data,” said Swisscom CEO Urs Schaeppi in a press release on August 15^th. 

One of the latest examples of the community’s disapproval was a protest in May. The protest was held in Bern, and was organized the Stop5G movement. Around 1000 people arrived to this protest, believing 5G should be stopped for several reasons: health concerns; the damage to sustainable development of the infrastructure and energy usage of 5G; and the security threat to our private lives that universal connectivity implies.

It seems like the most common fear is health issues, as a survey found that 54% of Swiss citizens believe 5G could be damaging to their health. A recent study by market research group Die Marktforscher Also showed a rise in the number of people worried about the potential negative effects of 5G tech-  44 percent this year, in comparison to the 22 percent a year earlier.

The telecom providers have dismissed the health and safety fears, stating that the impact is the same as that of 3G and 4G, so should people really be worried? It seems like the answer is probably no. The FCC (Federal Communication Services) declared in the beginning of the month (August 8) that 5G is safe, and the rules regulating radio emissions for safety don’t need to be changed in order to accommodate it.

This highlights the need of proper education for the public  – the cooperation of the community is a must, and without it many good projects might fail.