The Swiss voice in the world since 1935

5G is not harmful to health, says government report

Engineer climbing an antenna
High risk? An engineer installing a 5G antenna in canton Geneva in 2019 © Keystone / Martial Trezzini

In a significant step for the deployment of 5G in Switzerland a federal study has found for the first time that the technology does not have negative health consequences. The radiation from the phones will remain moderate, it says.

The values measured are well below the limit values that are decisive for health effects, according to the reportExternal link produced for the Swiss Federal Office of Energy. They are even lower than when the previous measurements were taken eight years ago. This is due in part to the development of new, less harmful antennas, it says.

However, opponents are not convinced. “This report is not realistic because it doesn’t take into account the changes that were made at the legal level for the new 5G antennas that weren’t operating at full capacity at the time of the measurements,” Olivier Bodenmann, founder of the STOP 5G collective, told Swiss public television, RTSExternal link, on Wednesday.

“What’s more, there were no measurements in schools, few measurements in private spaces and the measurements in public transport were taken outside peak hours.”

In Switzerland more than 3,000 objections at cantonal and municipal level are blocking the rollout of the 5G network.

More
Workers on a 5G antennae

More

Swiss remain divided over 5G rollout

This content was published on Swiss opinion over the expansion of the 5G telecommunications network is still split down the middle, according to a survey.

Read more: Swiss remain divided over 5G rollout

Popular Stories

News

A code of conduct for collecting signatures

More

Swiss democracy

Switzerland to introduce code of conduct for collecting referendum signatures

This content was published on Commercial collectors of signatures for initiatives and referendums could be given a legally non-binding code of conduct. This proposal comes from the Federal Chancellery following the discovery of thousands of falsified signatures.

Read more: Switzerland to introduce code of conduct for collecting referendum signatures
Blatten in Valais to be rebuilt in four years

More

Swiss Politics

Destroyed Swiss village of Blatten to be rebuilt within four years

This content was published on After the devastating landslide, Blatten in Valais should be standing again by 2029. Municipal president Matthias Bellwald confirmed the corresponding plans to the Keystone-SDA news agency on Wednesday, which he had presented at a municipal meeting the previous evening.

Read more: Destroyed Swiss village of Blatten to be rebuilt within four years

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR