"Technology is great but not if your health is at risk"

Wednesday 14 August 2019

As plans for local telecoms companies to implement a 5G network in Guernsey forge ahead, some people are trying to publicly raise concerns over what the new technology might mean for their health.

They are urging the States to take another look at 5G, and lobbying for a more cautious approach in putting any new system live.

United under the banner 'Say No To 5G', David Green, Kay Leslie, Daniel White, Sophie Shand and Laura Anderson-Mancini have written to Express with their concerns. 

Some of the advice the group are citing can be found here to read for yourself.

"We are a group of professional people who never normally lobby in the public arena. We are so concerned about the independent scientific evidence we have discovered around 5G and the serious health effects of 4G, WIFI and cell towers to our health, that we have created the “Say NO to 5G in beautiful Guernsey” campaign and website," they said.

"Our aim is to put forward the scientific evidence so that the public can be educated and to lobby our caring and responsible politicians who have promised to base all policies around making Guernsey the happiest and healthiest place to live in the world. We believe that they will make the right choice and apply the precautionary principle to indefinitely stop the 5G rollout."

What is 5G? 5G is fifth generation internet, which will give people access to extremely high speeds of data roaming internet access. It will be important in a number of future technologies like driverless cars. 

The group are looking to other communities around the world as examples of where 5G is being stopped in its tracks. Brussels as a city, for example, has very strict regulations on the amount of radiation telecoms masts can emit - a law which made implementing 4G difficult there. Additionally, a town in California has agreed to ban 5G from being allowed there.

But as a group they are also pointing to countries like the Netherlands, which actually looked at stopping 5G because of security risks surrounding Chinese telecoms giant Huawei. These security concerns arose as part of a trade war between the United States and China, but earlier in the year it was announced the UK will still allow the company to assist in setting up its 5G infrastructure. 

Earlier in the year, the Channel Islands Competition and Regulatory Authority gave its assurances that the emissions from any antennae would be closely monitored, and it would be ensured they meet all international standards. It has also been clarified that Guernsey would by no means be the first place in the world to be using 5G - there hare already areas with 5G access in cities like London and Birmingham, and further afield around the globe. 

Internationally, it is currently widely agreed that any evidence that 5G poses a health risk 'falls short'.

The States of Guernsey and the government in Jersey have committed to adopting 5G, with a timeline currently indicated a roll out of 2020. 

If a 5G network is set up on the island, it will use more, smaller masts, because the frequency is lower. They are less obtrusive than normal telephone masts, according to the States. 

Just this week, JT announced it would be starting a test site in both Guernsey and Jersey for 5G set up. It said: "The test will provide important technical and planning information to support JT’s forthcoming applications for a licence to extend its leading 2G/3G/4G networks towards 5G, once the process for doing so is announced by CICRA."

This has only prompted more concerns from the local group though, who are warning that a number of 'eminent international doctors and scientists' have already written to the States of Guernsey to warn them of the dangers. 

The lobby group want 5G banned in Guernsey until a review independent of the telecoms industry can take place. 

"We want a thorough review of the effects of wireless radiation in Guernsey seeking advice from independent scientific and medical independent experts who are separate from the telecoms industry, to introduce (by learning from other countries) sensible regulations and effective legislation to educate the public about the health risks," they said.

"Guernsey can then adopt the gold standard on EMF/RFR regulations to protect every one of our 63,000 VIP citizens made up of the elderly, adults, parents, kids, toddlers and our precious wildlife who all make up our community on our beautiful island as well as our environment."

They likened 5G to tobacco and asbestos, two things governments had previously said were not a health risk, but have since changed their stance on.

"By running a positive public health awareness campaign, we are sure that instead we can create a unique opportunity for Guernsey to become a testbed for international research to create the safest and fastest connectivity in the world."