5G phone mast health fears: mobile firm speaks out on plans for Horsham

Three Mobile wants to erect the 18m phone mast on the boundary of Greenway Junior School.

But local residents have launched a protest petition. They say they fear schoolchildren would be exposed to electric magnetic radiation and that the long-term effect of that is unknown because the technology is in its infancy.

However a spokesperson for Three Mobile said: “We are aware that there have been some concerns raised, however, from a health and safety perspective, 5G deployment is no different to any other mobile technology.

"All generations of mobile technology used by Three comply with guidelines to ensure that no harmful levels of radiation are emitted.

"As a responsible company, we take our obligation to run a safe network very seriously and actively work to ensure that our network remains compliant with international guidelines.”

The spokesperson added: “5G rollout is vital for residents and businesses of Horsham. We want to offer the community a reliable network experience and a new site will be critical to making that happen.

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"Masts need to be situated where people will be using the service and, in many cases, in precise locations to ensure the widest breadth of coverage.

“We carry out extensive searches and evaluate a wide range of options before submitting any planning applications.”

Government communications regulator Ofcom says: “Companies have been rolling out 5G in the UK since 2019. However, some people have raised concerns that the

introduction of 5G could affect people’s health and have even linked it to the coronavirus pandemic.

“These claims are completely unfounded and should not be used as a basis to block or delay 5G rollout.”

It adds: “There is nothing fundamentally different about the physical characteristics of the radio signals that will be produced by 5G compared to previous technologies like 3G and 4G.

“Compared to previous generations of mobile services, 5G offers faster internet speeds and the ability to connect thousands of different devices in a small area.”