The 5G wireless standard is a less polarising issue among the Swiss population than thought. According to a survey conducted by ETH researchers, the majority of people are in favour of 5G. However, a substantial portion of the population in the French-speaking region had concerns about electromagnetic radiation.
What does the Swiss population think about 5G expansion? Political scientists at ETH sought to answer this question through a representative survey conducted in the summer of 2020. The researchers published their results (see box) under the auspices of the Swiss Environment Panel, a collaboration between ETH and the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN).
Opinions as to whether 5G should be expanded in Switzerland differ. A solid 10% of respondents are either strongly in favour or strongly opposed to it. The remaining responses are evenly distributed between “more in favour” and “more opposed”. Respondents’ opinions do not depend on whether the question refers to 5G expansion in their own communities or in Switzerland as a whole. Although the current roll-out of 5G is taking place in frequency ranges already used for mobile communications and WLAN, the majority of respondents (57%) believe that 5G poses greater health risks than 3G or 4G.
Source: “German-speaking Switzerland less critical of 5G expansion”, Zurich ETH News
