The Geneva courts have invalidated the 2020 law prohibiting the deployment of 5G, deemed contrary to federal law. Operators Swisscom, Sunrise and Salt won the case. The Geneva government may appeal, while the Confederation has introduced new regulations to boost 5G in Switzerland.
In the canton of Geneva, the Constitutional Chamber has handed down an important ruling concerning the law passed in 2020 by the Geneva Grand Council against the deployment of the 5G network. This law, which imposed a moratorium on 5G and required operators to apply for a permit to adapt 4G antennas to the 5G standard, was deemed contrary to federal law and was invalidated by the courts.
The Geneva law, enacted in July 2020, was intended to protect the population from radiation from cell phone installations, but this competence falls under federal law, according to the Constitutional Chamber. The Geneva authorities had suspended and then refused construction permit applications from operators Swisscom, Sunrise and Salt, preventing the rollout of 5G.
The operators have now won their case, as the courts have invalidated the law. As a result, they were unable to meet their 5G coverage obligation, imposed by federal legislation.
The Geneva government has not yet taken a decision on a possible appeal. State Councillor Antonio Hodgers pointed out that the canton was aware that there was no federal legal basis for the moratorium, and that the aim was to raise public awareness of the issue.
To boost 5G deployment, the Swiss Confederation introduced new regulations in February 2025. These rules allow cantons and municipalities to continue expanding 5G networks while respecting the radiation limits set by the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN).
Discussions on the effects of 5G on the environment and health are lively not only in Switzerland, but also on a European scale. While proponents of 5G believe that certain applications of this technology will enable energy savings, reports such as this one from think tank The Shift Project warn of the potential environmental impact of large-scale deployment of this technology, including an increase in the carbon footprint of digital.
Source : ICTjournal
