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Municipal 5G bans during the Covid-19 pandemic: the case of Italy
Abstract
Purpose
Several sources have reported an increase in the opposition to the fifth-generation (5G) amongst local communities following the outbreak of Covid-19. In Italy, more than 300 municipalities banned 5G rollout from their territory between April and June 2020. Researchers have described this phenomenon as resulting from the infodemic caused by the pandemic, however, local protests also accompanied the rollout of the previous generation of mobile communications. This paper uses document analysis to explore the local debate on 5G municipal bans and map their evolution in an Italian region. This study aims to unravel the complexity of this phenomenon and inform future research on the actors and factors underlying the opposition of local communities towards 5G.
Design/methodology/approach
The analysis focusses on Marche, a region in Italy where, by July 2020, 25% of the municipalities had banned 5G rollout. This analysis is based on secondary data, retrieved from multiple online sources (articles from the local press, public statements and press releases, minutes from local council meetings and resolutions from local councils).
Findings
The analysis revealed that concerns on the safety of electromagnetic fields predated the pandemic, although these concerns may have increased the sensitivity of local communities towards health issues. The local debates on 5G involved many actors from the civil society, including environmentalists that had long campaigned against wireless technologies and local politicians playing a proactive role in leading and coordinating the adoption of resolutions against 5G.
Originality/value
This paper addresses an emerging phenomenon, such as municipal bans against 5G, that has not yet been explored in academic literature. Researchers have recently investigated the propagation of conspiracy theories on 5G on social media, but little has been said on the factors and actors shaping the debate on 5G within local communities.
... In Rennes, France, for example, a citizen mobilization, lasting four months, bears witness to the way in which a conflict between the population and the municipality, on the one hand, and telecommunications companies, on the other, was resolved (Rennes Métropole 2020). Opposition coming from the public actors-often elected officials-appears to be driven primarily by to the lack of communication between the different levels of government and the dearth of citizen consultations (Gerli 2021). Other conflicts are based on landscape integration issues, such as in the county of Douglas, Colorado, United States, which won its case against T-Mobile (Cramer 2022). ...
... Such observations require rethinking multi-level governance as generally understood in Canada, both with regard to the type of actors involved in this governance and the nature of the relationships that it builds. The absence of any real consideration of the municipal level as a political tier, due in particular to the division of competences within multi-level governance, is likely to lead to a gap between national objectives and local aspirations, a topic that has been scarcely documented (Gerli 2021). ...
Municipalities are often considered to be places of innovation. However, certain issues, such as 5G, suggest that the municipal level of government is hampered by challenges. In this article, we present the results of a survey of 220 respondents from 54 different municipalities of various sizes, alongside a media press review. We show that 5G is indicative of the challenges pertaining to multi-level governance, the presence of a significant information deficit as well as the clout of the private sector in public planning. These findings call on us to examine municipal governance and the relevance of creating intermunicipal cooperation.
... Clearly, innovative 5G services like Industry 4.0 and smart healthcare can be provided only if new 5G BSs are pervasively installed over the territory. However, generalized bans were promoted by several Italian municipalities to deny the installation of 5G sites [3], which required the central government to emanate new laws against such bans. In addition, the minimization of exposure from cellular towers in social, recreation and medical places is pursued by different national regulations (see e.g., Italy [4] and Greece [5] regulations), on the basis of a supposed "precautionary" principle. ...
... In more detail, we initially extract the tower data from the documents sent by operators to ARPA Lazio in order to get authorization approval for the tower. 3 The collected information for each tower t includes tower type C t , the UTM positioning x t , y t , the installed operators, the sector orientation ρ CLOCK (t,s,o) and the height of the electrical center z CE (t,o) . In the following step, we perform a cross-check of the obtained data through a driving-based approach. ...
The rolling-out of 5G antennas over the territory is a fundamental step to provide 5G connectivity. However, little efforts have been done so far on the exposure assessment from 5G cellular towers over young people and "sensitive" buildings, like schools and medical centers. To face such issues, we provide a sound methodology for the numerical evaluation of 5G (and pre-5G) downlink exposure over children, teenagers, schools and medical centers. We then apply the proposed methodology over two real scenarios. Results reveal that the exposure from 5G cellular towers will increase in the forthcoming years, in parallel with the growth of the 5G adoption levels. However, the exposure levels are well below the maximum ones defined by international regulations. Moreover, the exposure over children and teenagers is similar to the one of the whole population, while the exposure over schools and medical centers can be lower than the one of the whole set of buildings. Finally, the exposure from 5G is strongly lower than the pre-5G one when the building attenuation is introduced and a maturity adoption level for 5G is assumed.
... Clearly, innovative 5G services like Industry 4.0 and smart healthcare can be provided only if new 5G BSs are pervasively installed over the territory. However, generalized bans were promoted by several Italian municipalities to deny the installation of 5G sites [3], which required the central government to emanate new laws against such bans. In addition, the minimization of exposure from cellular towers in social, recreation and medical places is pursued by different national regulations (see e.g., Italy [4] and Greece [5] regulations), on the basis of a supposed "precautionary" principle. ...
... In more detail, we initially extract the tower data from the documents sent by operators to ARPA Lazio in order to get authorization approval for the tower. 3 The collected information for each tower t includes tower type C t , the UTM positioning x t , y t , the installed operators, the sector orientation ρ CLOCK (t,s,o) and the height of the electrical center z CE (t,o) . In the following step, we perform a cross-check of the obtained data through a driving-based approach. ...
The rolling-out of 5G antennas over the territory is a fundamental step to provide 5G connectivity. However, little efforts have been done so far on the exposure assessment from 5G cellular towers over young people and “sensitive” buildings like schools and medical centers. The goal of this article is therefore to provide a sound methodology for the numerical evaluation of 5G (and pre-5G) exposure over children, teenagers, schools and medical centers. Our results, obtained by applying the proposed methodology in two realistic scenarios, reveal that the exposure from 5G cellular towers will increase in the forthcoming years, in parallel with the growing adoption levels of 5G. However, the observed exposure levels are well below the maximum ones (defined by international regulations). Moreover, the exposure over children and teenagers is similar to the one of the whole population, while the exposure over schools and medical centers can be also lower than the one of the whole set of buildings. Finally, when the building attenuation is introduced, the exposure from 5G is strongly lower the the pre-5G one, even for a maturity adoption level of 5G.
... Recent literature examined the legitimacy of 5G during the Covid 19 pandemic in light of the '5G conspiracy theory' (Buarque, 2022) and considered novel ways of claiming authority and visibility without them being associated with any institution. Social acceptability and its impact on the legitimacy of 5G network rollouts was also researched by Gerli (2021), and Butot and van Zoonen (2022) who identified factors underlying the opposition of local communities to 5G, described the process of the municipal banning of 5G rollouts. However, the extant research has only rarely addressed the legitimacy considerations related to regulatory approaches , Gisca et al., 2022. ...
... For example, protests are against waste disposal sites, chemical plants, and nuclear power plants (He et al., 2023). Additionally, there are digital NIMBY incidents, such as the opposition to 5G signal stations (Gerli, 2021). There have been instances of 5G stations being dismantled or removed in response to resident boycotts in the years following the introduction of the concept of "new types of infrastructure construction" by the Chinese government in the year 2018 (Wang, 2020). ...
This study ventures into the complex terrain of public opinion expression in China’s 5G NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) incidents, delineating a critical juncture in the evolution of digital activism and socio-legal dynamics. Utilizing qualitative comparative analysis (QCA), our research explores the intricate modalities of dissent in the backdrop of China’s rigid internet regulations and emerging 5G technology. The study uncovers a paradigm shift in protest strategies, from traditional forms to “low-intensity protests” and a surprising emphasis on health-related concerns over procedural justice. This transition highlights an intricate interplay between cultural values, legal norms, and technological apprehensions. Our findings reveal a nuanced balance between “traditional morality” and “modern legality,” underlining the complex impact of cultural and legal frameworks on public perception and response to technological advancements. Our exploration extends beyond the typical NIMBY narrative by examining the expression dynamics within China’s socio-political fabric, marked by a discreet yet potent form of digital activism. The study’s implications are manifold, offering novel insights for policymakers and local authorities in managing public sentiment toward 5G technology. It emphasizes the importance of addressing health concerns and procedural justice to foster productive community dialog and engagement. This research contributes significantly to the knowledge economy by providing a unique lens into China’s contentious politics of technological innovation and governance. It bridges academic research gaps and informs effective policy solutions, underscoring the vital role of knowledge in navigating the complexities of technology, society, and law.
... On the other hand, while pursuing their strategy of appeals at the national and European levels, national associations and groups backed up local groups in pressuring local administrations and mayors directly, or indirectly through the mediation of local politicians (Gerli, 2021). In this phase, mayors' public health responsibilities meant that they were authorised to suspend 5G adoption. ...
This chapter addresses the discursive practices, media-related and not, adopted by the Italian Stop 5G RKC to produce, stabilise and transform its shared (refused) knowledge. Adopting an ecological approach, this inquiry has its main focus on the digital sphere as a transmedia circulation environment in which a range of discourses and narratives can coexist and interact in multiple ways, sometimes colliding and competing, sometimes adapting to each other, sometimes merging in new ways. In particular, it shows how, during the pandemic crisis, the Stop 5G RKC transformed its discursive practices (and, consequently, its shared knowledge) from a ‘scientific patchwork’ storytelling approach—based on a rigid definition of borders and selection of scientific sources—to a ‘syncretic patchwork’ storytelling approach—based on combining diverse and sometimes conflicting discursive sources (e.g. scientific knowledge, folklore, new age spirituality and conspiracy theories). This perspective allows to highlight the close relationship between the RKCs’ discursive practices, their forms of organisation and the shared (refused) knowledge they produce and reproduce.
Over the past two decades, community broadband networks, platform cooperatives, and data cooperatives have emerged as promising models to counterbalance market distortions and power asymmetries in the governance of digital infrastructures, services and data. Drawing on multidisciplinary academic debates, this paper investigates how these grassroots approaches to the development and governance of digital innovations can be further harnessed to foster a good digital society. Both their accomplishments and shortcomings are thoroughly reviewed and critically analysed to illustrate and appraise their potential application into diverse spheres of the digital society (from the governance of high-speed networks to the protection of non-personal data). The paper concludes with a research and policy agenda, designed to address the challenges emerging from the analysis. Academic researchers are urged to further advance both the empirical and theoretical investigation of these initiatives to develop a more coherent and robust understanding of their development and sustainability over time. A systemic change in the approach of policymakers is also advocated for, to devise regulatory interventions and policy measures capable of sustaining the diffusion and scaleup of grassroots digital innovations.
This article examines the emergence of conspiracy theories linking COVID-19 with 5G, with a focus on Australia, the United States and United Kingdom. The article is in two parts. The first details long-standing concerns around mobile technologies and infrastructures before showing how they translate to specific worries about 5G technology. The second shows how these fears have fuelled specific conspiracies connecting 5G with COVID-19, how they have animated protests and acts of vandalism that have occurred during the pandemic, and the ongoing engagement of conspiracists with official inquiries into 5G. Finally, we argue that a productive way to understand what is happening with 5G is to look beyond conspiracy theories to a larger set of concerns. We argue that the battle for control of 5G infrastructure can be productively understood in geopolitical terms, as forms of economic statecraft, which partly explains why governments are increasingly concerned about countering misinformation and disinformation around 5G.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, risk communication has often been ineffective, and from this perspective “fake news” has found fertile ground, both as a cause and a consequence of it. The aim of this study is to measure how much “fake news” and corresponding verified news have circulated in Italy in the period between 31 December 2019 and 30 April 2020, and to estimate the quality of informal and formal communication. We used the BuzzSumo application to gather the most shared links on the Internet related to the pandemic in Italy, using keywords chosen according to the most frequent “fake news” during that period. For each research we noted the numbers of “fake news” articles and science-based news articles, as well as the number of engagements. We reviewed 2102 articles. Links that contained fake news were shared 2,352,585 times, accounting for 23.1% of the total shares of all the articles reviewed. Our study throws light on the “fake news” phenomenon in the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. A quantitative assessment is fundamental in order to understand the impact of false information and to define political and technical interventions in health communication. Starting from this evaluation, health literacy should be improved by means of specific interventions in order to improve informal and formal communication.
Focussing in detail on one key component of the infodemic surrounding COVID-19, this article traces the dissemination dynamics of rumours that the pandemic outbreak was somehow related to the rollout of 5G mobile telephony technology in Wuhan and around the world. Drawing on a mixture of quantitative and qualitative methods including time-series analysis, network analysis and in-depth close reading, our analysis shows the dissemination of the rumour on Facebook from its obscure origins in pre-existing conspiracist groups through greater uptake in more diverse communities to substantial amplification by celebrities, sports stars and media outlets. The in-depth tracing of COVID-related mis- and disinformation across social networks offers important new insights into the dynamics of online information dissemination and points to opportunities to slow and stop the spread of false information, or at least to combat it more directly with accurate counterinformation.
Amid increased acts of violence against telecommunication engineers and property, this pre‐registered study (N = 601 Britons) investigated the association between beliefs in 5G COVID‐19 conspiracy theories and the justification and willingness to use violence. Findings revealed that belief in 5G COVID‐19 conspiracy theories was positively correlated with state anger, which in turn, was associated with a greater justification of real‐life and hypothetical violence in response to an alleged link between 5G mobile technology and COVID‐19, alongside a greater intent to engage in similar behaviours in the future. Moreover, these associations were strongest for those highest in paranoia. Furthermore, we show that these patterns are not specific to 5G conspiratorial beliefs: General conspiracy mentality was positively associated with justification and willingness for general violence, an effect mediated by heightened state anger, especially for those most paranoid in the case of justification of violence. Such research provides novel evidence on why and when conspiracy beliefs may justify the use of violence.
Background:
Since the beginning of December 2019 COVID-19 has spread rapidly around the world which has led to increased discussions across online platforms. These conversations have also included various conspiracies shared by social media users. Amongst them a popular theory has linked 5G to the spread of COVID-19 leading to misinformation and the burning of 5G towers in the United Kingdom. The understanding of the drivers of fake news and quick policies oriented to isolate and rebate misinformation are key to combating it.
Objective:
To develop an understanding of the drivers of the 5G COVID-19 conspiracy theory and strategies to deal with such misinformation.
Methods:
This paper performs a Social Network Analysis and Content Analysis of Twitter data from a 7-day period, Friday 27 March 2020 to Saturday 04 April 2020, in which the #5GCoronavirus hashtag was trending on Twitter in the United Kingdom. Influential users are analyzed through social network graph clusters. The size of the nodes is ranked by their betweenness centrality score and the graph's vertices are grouped by cluster using the Clauset-Newman-Moore algorithm. Topics and Web sources utilized by users are examined.
Results:
Social Network Analysis identified that the two largest network structures consisted of an isolates group and a broadcast group. The analysis also reveals that there was a lack of authority figure who was actively combating such misinformation. Content analysis reveals that only 35% of individual tweets contained views that 5G and COVID-19 were linked whereas 32% denounced the conspiracy theory and 33% were general tweets not expressing any personal views or opinions. Thus, 65% of tweets derived from non-conspiracy theory supporters which suggests that although the topic attracted high volume only a handful of users genuinely believed the conspiracy. This paper also shows that fake news websites were the most popular Web-source shared by users although YouTube videos were also shared. The study also identified an account whose sole aim was to spread the conspiracy theory on Twitter.
Conclusions:
The combination of quick targeted interventions oriented to delegitimize the sources of fake information are key to reducing their impact. Those users voicing their views against the conspiracy theory, link-baiting, or sharing humorous tweets inadvertently raised the profile of the topic, suggesting that policymakers should insist in the efforts of isolating opinions which are based on fake news. Many social media platforms provide users with the ability to report inappropriate content which should be utilized. This study is the first to analyse the 5G conspiracy theory in the context of COVID-19 on Twitter offering practical guidance to health authorities in how, in the context of a pandemic, rumors may be combated in the future.
Clinicaltrial:
The deployment of a new generation of mobile communication networks requires the installation of a dedicated radio access infrastructure. In the case of 5G, this unavoidable practice is creating a controversy about the potential issues for the public health that new radio base stations may entail. In this chapter, we discuss five major health risk allegations against 5G, namely: (i) the links between insurgence of tumors and exposure to ElectroMagnetic Fields (EMFs) generated by 5G; (ii) the increase of EMF levels due to an uncontrolled proliferation of 5G sites; (iii) the health risks associated to emissions in the new mm-Wave spectrum adopted by 5G; (iv) the uncertainty about the actual 5G EMF emission levels caused by the absence of dedicated measurements; (v) the impossibility to remove the previous uncertainty determined by the lack of measurement tools suitable for 5G technologies. We examine these arguments from an engineering perspective, by tacking into account the outcome of state-of-the-art scientific studies, the current relevant regulations and the technical features of 5G technologies. Our review indicates that there is no incontrovertible scientific evidence supporting any of the five claims. While we second the need for further investigations, we also remark a factual fabrication of fake news on the risks of 5G for the public health, which may severely distort the perception of this technology by the population at large.
EU broadband policy has been described as an example of multi-level governance (MLG) involving manifold actors across different sectors and levels of government. Whereas the extant literature has largely explored the interaction among public and private players and between national and supranational regulators in the context of the EU broadband markets, little attention has been paid to the MLG of state aid for broadband diffusion. This paper aims to fill such a research gap by employing multiple qualitative methods to explore how MLG has affected the implementation of public initiatives in support of broadband diffusion across Spain, Italy and the UK. The cross-country comparison reveals a trend towards the centralisation of public interventions, which created efficiencies in the management of state aid but raised tensions with local authorities. Therefore, the current MLG of state aid needs to be adjusted to balance the benefits of a greater coordination with the need to ensure the effective and active participation of local stakeholders to the implementation of broadband projects.
This paper uses multi-level longitudinal mixed-methods to map changes in citizens’ experiences of technological risks and asks if these are influenced by risk governance. We focus on the uncertain health risks of mobile phone cell sites. We quantitatively survey a national level panel of citizens in the Netherlands and make use of mixed-method panels of citizens who are being confronted with siting practices in the Netherlands and Southern California.
We find that often and unsurprisingly cell site deployment is of limited importance in the everyday lives of citizens. However, at closer inspection we find three ways in which risk governance affects citizens’ experiences. First, the framing of cell site deployment among citizens closely resembles the frames in policy. Second, following the depoliticization of cell phone health risks, the absence of alarming health effects and the withering of public debate, a stable three quarter of citizens seems unconcerned for a couple of years, while an equally stable quarter reports health worries. This stability is in line with the stabilized dominant policy discourse. Third, on an individual and local level, we do find some changes in citizens’ risk perception, framings, feelings and – albeit very limited, actions. These changes can partly be traced to local siting procedures. Our findings point to the need to examine the concrete practices through which a problem and its public emerge over time in the context of wider dominant political discourses.
The installation of Base Station (BS) sites is regulated by a variety of laws, at international, national, and local levels. While international regulations are already severe, the national and local laws applied in many countries and regions follow precautionary principles, and enforce ElectroMagnetic Field (EMF) constraints that are even more restrictive. This legal environment results in substantial constraints affecting the planning of cellular networks, as requests for new BS site installation are easily denied by national or local authorities. In this work, we consider the problem of cellular planning under restrictive EMF limits from the User Equipment (UE) viewpoint. We focus on outdoor urban areas, and first evaluate the impact of the current, non-optimal network planning at the UE side, through a quantitative measurement-driven analysis of the Quality of Service (QoS) observed by users in heterogeneous, large-scale urban scenarios.
We then perform a qualitative assessment of the perceived QoS and generated EMF levels at one UE transferring data from/to a BS, based on its position with respect to the serving BS. Finally, we run a what-if analysis, by comparing the existing planning with the one where new BS sites can be installed, thanks to a relaxation of the restrictive EMF constraints. Our results clearly show that a cellular planning driven by restrictive EMF constraints forces UE to experience large distances from the serving BS, frequent Non-Line-of-Sight (NLOS) conditions, and poor received signal. In turn, this entails a very negative combination of high Electric Field Activity (EFA) levels generated by the UE, and low QoS perceived by the user. We show that, by relaxing the restrictive EMF constraints, the problem could be sensibly mitigated, with a positive impact on the UE channel conditions, and consequently on the perceived QoS and the UE EFA.
Purpose
Public policy requires effective identification of the current and emerging issues being faced in industry and beyond. This paper aims to identify a set of key issues currently facing digital communications and reviews their relevance for the strategic provision of infrastructure, particularly within the UK context.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology focusses on taking a horizon-scanning approach to obtaining current information from a range of authoritative decision makers across industry, government and academia. After structuring the issues identified, these areas are explored by a multi-disciplinary research team covering engineering, economics and computer science.
Findings
Five key categories were identified including future demand; coverage and capacity; policy and regulation; economics and business models; and technology. The results are reported for both fixed and wireless networks. Shared issues affecting the wider digital ecosystem are also identified including Brexit, connecting remote areas and the degree to which the economics of infrastructure allows for building multiple overlapping infrastructures. The authors find that future demand uncertainty is one of the major issues affecting the digital communications sector driven by rigid willingness-to-pay, weak revenue and an increasing shift from fixed to wireless technologies. Policy must create the market conditions that encourage the entry of new competitors with innovative thinking and disruptive business models.
Research limitations/implications
A limitation of the analysis is that it is quite UK-focussed; hence, further research could broaden this analysis to assessing issues at a continental or global scale.
Originality/value
The value of this paper originates from the breadth of the expert elicitation exercise carried out to gather the initial set of issues, followed by the analysis of this data by a multi-disciplinary team of researchers. The results direct a future research agenda, as many issues are indicative of a lack of existing evidence to support effective decision-making.
This article puts forward an interactionist discourse approach for studying the course of local political protest. We argue that how local policy-makers engage with the (anticipated) demands of citizens and mediate national policy produces distinct framing and feeling rules about potentially controversial issues. These framing and feeling rules open up or close down opportunities for citizen concerns to develop into collective action and policy change. Our contribution refines cultural approaches to social movement theory, focusing on local interactions in the formation of discourse, and allows us to better understand within-country variation in the course of contentious collective action. We develop our argument through a comparison of sixteen cases of installing mobile phone cell sites in the Netherlands. We show that the interaction between municipalities and citizens establishes a specific framing of the issue, of the role of citizens in decision-making and of the rules concerning what citizens may legitimately feel about mobile phone masts being erected in their neighbourhoods. This gives rise to four typical patterns of engagement between municipalities and citizens.
Si produce un'analisi del movimento di protesta contro il MUOS (sistema di comunicazioni geo-satellitare della US navy) di Niscemi, mettendo in evidenza i cambiamenti organizzativi e il mutamento di scala della mobilitazione dalla sua nascita fino ad oggi.
A più di sette anni di distanza, la controversa vicenda del MUOS (Mobile User Objective System), il sistema di comunicazioni geo-satellitare della US Navy-la cui quarta stazione di terra è stata ultimata nella base vicino Niscemi, non sembra avviarsi verso l'epilogo. Infatti, nonostante la sentenza definitiva del Consiglio di Giustizia Amministrativa (CGA) abbia dichiarato non nocive per la salute le radiazioni emesse dalle antenne paraboliche, alla metà del maggio 2016 l'impianto resta ancora sotto sequestro giudiziario e la protesta contro la sua attivazione continua (CT-Mn 1 6/5/2016, 16/5/2016). In questi anni di aspro conflitto molto si è parlato, almeno a livello regionale, delle ragioni del NO alle antenne USA (p.e. Mazzeo 2013), e specularmente delle ragioni del Si, meno forse dell'attore collettivo che ha promosso e gestito questa dura contrapposizione con le autorità regionali, nazionali e statunitensi: il movimento No Muos.
This article offers a step-by-step description of how qualitative data analysis software can be used for a qualitative content analysis of newspaper articles. Using NVivo as an example, it illustrates how software tools can facilitate analytical flexibility and how they can enhance transparency and trustworthiness of the qualitative research process. Following a brief discussion of the key characteristics, advantages and limitations of qualitative data analysis software, the article describes a qualitative content analysis of 230 newspaper articles, conducted to determine international media perceptions of New Zealand's environmental performance in connection with climate change and carbon emissions. The article proposes a multi-level coding approach during the analysis of news texts that combines quantitative and qualitative elements, allowing the researcher to move back and forth in coding and between analytical levels. The article concludes that while qualitative data analysis software, such as NVivo, will not do the analysis for the researcher, it can make the analytical process more flexible, transparent and ultimately more trustworthy.
http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs150283
Federal policies have encouraged the growth of wireless communications services while recognizing the traditional primacy of state and local land use regulations governing their infrastructure. However, collective action problems have resulted in the externalization by some communities of the burdens of accommodating wireless towers and other equipment serving them to other localities. This article explores the infrastructure siting provisions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. It concludes that Congress's effort to strike a balance between local concerns on one hand and national commerce and homeland security on the other has proved vague in content and susceptible to procedural delays that might make local parochialism impervious to challenge. The article suggests statutory changes, including time limitations and the creation of presumptions and safe harbor rules, that might better balance infrastructure development needs with local autonomy.
Conspiracy theories have proliferated during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide an explanation for uncontrollable circumstances. Most conspiratorial explanations often ascribe disease to foreigners or as a result of deliberate actions. Through mapping retweets that attribute COVID-19 to a bioweapon or a lab in China, I examine the geography behind a metonymic conspiracy theory.
Purpose
Proponents of 5G predict a huge market for 5G goods and services with millions of new jobs being created. The purpose of this paper is to make a realistic assessment of the 5G initiative, with a focus on Europe.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper reviews the technical, economic and policy literature to analyse the case for 5G in Europe.
Findings
The 5G initiative in Europe, as well as globally, has so far failed to assess objectively the future needs of its customers, whether consumer or business, to articulate a set of sound business cases.
Originality/value
There is little independent assessment of 5G in the academic literature. The paper makes an original contribution through questioning the dominant supply-driven industry perspective.
Studies of protests against mobile phone masts typically concentrate on the potential health risks associated with mobile phones and their masts. Beck's Risk Society has been particularly influential in informing this debate. This focus on health, however, has merely served to limit the discussion to those concerns legitimated by science conveniently ignoring other disputed issues. In contrast, this article contends that it is necessary to use a wider notion of risk to understand fully how the current political emphasis on active citizenship may have contributed to the protests. It examines how neoliberal governmentality and the move to empower people are in contention with one another. The study draws upon case material from a small village protest group in United Kingdom and argues that much of the tension arises from the encouragement of the public on one hand to become active citizens but on the other to be passive consumers.
This article explores processes of articulation in the controversies over third-generation mobile phone transmitters and the interrelated phenomenon of "electrosensitivity." The argument is that the search to fix public image and public concerns tends to alienate the public from technology discussions. An alternative political epistemology of articulations is suggested to explore the dynamics among prereflexive motives, public engagement, and institutional requirements for public deliberations.
This article concerns responses to health risk concerns about electromagnetic emissions from mobile phone masts. The article draws particular attention to the differential patterns of state response in the UK, USA, Italy, Ireland and Australia. It concludes that precautionary government responses have played a role in the 'social construction' of risk perceptions.
Public opposition to the siting of telecommunications masts tends to focus on perceived health risks, yet scientific evidence suggests that mobile handsets may constitute more of a risk. This paradox is usually explained in terms of cognitive or communication deficit models that contain an implicit thesis of protest actor irrationality. Recent authors (e.g. Burgess, 2002, 2004;Taverne, 2005) have, however, been more explicit in arguing that such protests are an irrational reaction to media constructed fears and state mismanagement of techno-infrastructure modernization. Together these approaches form what we call the ‘New Irrational Actor Model’. Drawing on insights from social movements theory and data from a 12-month case study of the campaign against Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA) telecommunications masts in north-east Fife, we argue that contrary to the ‘New Irrational Actor Model’, the anti-mast protesters utilize multi-form modes of substantive and instrumental rational action.
Why 5G requires new approaches to cybersecurity
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