The ESG would like to thank Gibtelecom for joining us in the recent 5G debate.

Full attendance during highly inclement weather, on a Friday evening, further confirmed the strong interest in this subject and we commend everyone who attended and enriched the evening. We are also very grateful to Owen Smith for the role he played as mediator/chair, which allowed the debate to move along covering both sides of the issue fairly.

Gibtelecom explained their position on how they roll out telecommunications services in Gibraltar today and how they envisage the use of 5G going forward.

ESG presented the other side of the story –about the speed in which this technology is being rolled out throughout the world, and concerns, widely shared, about the possible negative effects on human health of such relentless growth.

The debate saw 2 full hours of presentation, Q&A session and open floor and could easily have continued. It is expected that there will be further opportunities for this issue to be aired over the coming weeks.

Overall the ESG believes the evening achieved its objective when it first proposed such a public debate at a recent DPC meeting when Gibtelecom submitted 5G mast applications. We do not rule out any more public meetings in future.

What is clear is there is a real interest and thirst for clarity and information in Gibraltar about the technology that exists in our lives today; a technology that creates an ever more interesting, diverse and sophisticated world, but raises questions about the possible health impacts that must be explored fully.

Look out for more discussions coming along soon and we thank GBC for filming this lively and first ever 5G debate to take place on the Rock.

May the debate continue!