ZURICH (Reuters) – The Swiss government will keep current safety standards for fifth-generation (5G) mobile frequency emissions, it said on Wednesday, settling a debate that has delayed the rollout of the new technology.
Concerns about the potential health impact of 5G emissions have flared in Switzerland, where just over half of people fear that radiation from mobile antennas may be dangerous, a government report last year found.
“The Federal Council (cabinet) wants to maintain for the time being the applicable (emission) limits to protect the population from non-ionizing radiation,” it said in a statement.
It noted that a task force set up to examine the issue had been unable to agree on a joint recommendation on this point, and that parliament had twice refused to relax the radiation exposure limits.
Delays in issuing new 5G safety standards had hampered the rollout of the technology a year after a spectrum auction that raised 380 million Swiss francs (317.77 million pounds).
Switzerland last year launched a monitoring system to assuage concerns about the potential health impact of 5G emissions and smooth the cutting-edge technology’s rollout.