Swiss Review 5/2020

Swiss Review / September 2020 / No.5 8 “Selling its soul” Churches in Switzerland tend to be right in the middle of villages. Their central location and the height of their towers make them a pre- ferred place for mounting mobile phone anten- nas. Hidden within the belfry, these masts barely have any visual impact. Contracts with telecom companies also provide parishes with income. However, pressure from the congrega- tion has already resulted in many such parish- es refusing to instal new 5G antennas or con- vert existing masts to 5G. Examples include Oberburg (Berne), Alpnach (Obwalden), Krieg- stetten (Solothurn) and Belfaux (Fribourg). Be- sides the fear of electromagnetic smog, pa- rishioners also cited ethical concerns. The church in Kriegstetten should not be “selling its soul”, a member of the public told his local newspaper. Someone at a parish meeting in Alpnach reminded his fellow church-goers that “our church towers have transmitted informa- tion since time immemorial”. His remained a minority view. (SWE) Focus ple from unwanted radio waves in their own home. In Switzerland, statutory guidelines quantify how much electromagnetic radiation is still regarded as ‘safe’. The Federal Council decided in spring to maintain the existing limits onmobile emissions – a move that pleased 5G critics more than the telecommunica- tion sector. Telecom providers would prefer to instal fewer antennas and therefore wanted these limits to be eased. 5G proponents highlight the opportunities Objections to phone masts have been a recurrent theme for Switzerland’s mobile companies for the past 20 years. However, the advent of 5G has taken resistance to a whole new level. The influential liberal think tank Ave- nir Suisse called this “irrational”, while the conservative “Neue Zürcher Zeitung” referred to an “axis against progress”. The telecom sector itself warns that the operational perfor- mance of communication networks could be seriously compromised. It is calling for greater support from poli- ticians. Voices in favour of 5G are now making themselves heard in the fed- eral parliament, with the Green Lib- erals and the Liberals (FDP) saying that 5Goffers opportunities both of an economic nature and in terms of sus- tainability in areas such as agricul- ture. FDPNational Councillor Christian Wasserfallen (canton of Berne) says of the health-related concerns: “Ninety per cent of the emissions that we ab- sorb come from our own mobile de- vices, not from phone masts.” Wasser- fallen wants a government information campaign to promote 5G. Whether this is enough remains to be seen. Clearly, many Swiss want a say on this cutting-edge technology. The ballot box will likely decide whether 5G proponents or 5G opponents get their way. As many as five popular in- itiatives against 5G have been launched. “It’s a popular uprising!” exclaimed one activist live on television. Proponents of 5G say that the technology is key to developing self-drive motor vehi- cles. Pictured above: a driverless Swiss Post bus in Sion. Photo: Keystone Martina Munz (SP): “Eight per cent of our population say that they are electro­ sensitive.” Photo: parlament.ch Christian Wasserfallen (FDP): “Ninety per cent of the emissions we absorb come from our own mobile devices.” Photo: parlament.ch Opponent of 5G, Rebekka Meier: “Supporters of 5G are making things up as they go along.” Photo: schutz-vor-strahlung.ch