5G protesters damage telecom towers in Netherlands

AMSTERDAM: Several Dutch cellular broadcasting towers have been damaged by arson or sabotage in the past week by opponents of a rollout of a new 5G telecommunications network, international media reported.

Reports said there have been four such incidents in the past week, and cited the director of an industry group that oversees placement of cell towers in the country, The Monet Foundation.

The arsonists had left an anti-5G slogan spray-painted at the scene of one attack. A range of groups in the Netherlands have been opposed to the advent of 5G for some time, mostly over concerns that radiowaves could damage human health. Others fear the technology could infringe privacy. a statement on its website, the Dutch government’s Security and Counter-Terrorism (NCTV) said it had registered “various incidents” around broadcasting masts in the past week, including arson and sabotage, and that opposition to the 5G rollout is a possible cause. “This is a concerning development,” it said. “Disruption of broadcasting masts…can have consequences for the coverage of the telecommunications network and reachability of emergency services.”