How to oppose 5G “small cell” towers

Please note: This page was first published in 2018. In 2021 5G is widely being deployed throughout the world and there is talk of moving to 6G. To stay updated and informed sign up with Americans for Responsible Technology 

5G, or fifth generation cell phone technology requires an entirely different cell tower system. Adding to the existing macro cell towers are “small cell” towers planned for nearly every other block. In some cities, like Sacramento CA. 5G is already installed and many other cities have applications pending. The following information is focused on the “small cell”, but the “how to oppose” can apply to larger towers too. 

The Federal Communications Commission and the federal government have been promoting and supporting rapid expansion of 5G.  Some states have already passed laws forcing them onto communities.  However people are pushing back and defeating installations. When neighbors and community resist towers can be stopped. In Seaside California 5 cell towers were denied. In California SB649, which would have restricted cities ability to regulate 5G, was vetoed by Governor Jerry Brown.

The industry wants wireless everywhere with “small cell” towers  every couple hundred feet apart!  That means cell towers in our neighborhoods, near schools and parks, where we live, work and play. The industry vision for 5G is to enable the Internet of Things, Smart Communities, driverless cars (and

“small cell” tower in Santa Rosa CA. (Alvin Jornada / The Press Democrat)

more), where roads and appliances (even baby diapers!) are embedded with wireless radiation transmitters that connect to cell phones, smart meters and the internet.

There’s already too much harmful wireless radiation in our environment. People are already getting sick  from wi-fi, cell towers, smart meters and cell phones. Peer reviewed published science shows harmful effects of cell tower radiation include: fatigue, headaches, sleep problems, anxiety, ringing in the ears, heart problems, learning and memory disorders, increased cancer risk, and more. Studies found wireless radiation harms trees, birds, bees and insects. (See links to studies in this letter.)
Hundreds of scientists and public health experts are calling for a moratorium on 5G. They state, “We the undersigned, more than 180 scientists and doctors from 35 countries, recommend a moratorium on the roll-out of the fifth generation, 5G, for telecommunication until potential hazards for human health and the environment have been fully investigated by scientists independent from industry.”

5G would use a combination of microwaves and millimeter waves, which are scientifically shown to harm people and nature. For more information on 5G see What is 5G?

We need a moratorium on 5G, and we need to reduce wireless radiation throughout our communities.

Artwork by Shelley Masters

Oppose 5G! The following information has been compiled to help you stop 5G to protect your neighborhood, community, people, pets, and environment. Are you new to activism? If yes, listen to Zen of Mom’s Across America as she explains how to organize against 5G, See Episode 4

  1. Keep a watch on your [city or county] planning or permit department for applications for “small cell” towers.  You’ll need to call the city or county to find out who handles the telecommunications applications. Note they might deny the “small cell” is 5G but call it 4G instead. 4G small cell are the precursor to 5G and should be opposed.
  2. Educate and engage the community about EMF/wireless health risks. Here is a brochure about EMFs, a Stop 5G fact sheet  and a Stop 5G bee flyer you can use to start a conversation.  Mobilizing other people to get involved to take action is important. Even a few people can make a big difference. It is important to educate decision makers on the science of harm, because this will motivate them to find ways to deny the application.  People can also argue aesthetics, location, loss of scenic views, property devaluation, and no significant coverage gap.
  3. If you live in California:  This legal letter from Best Best and Krieger, outlines what a California community can do to legally deny “small cell” towers in the public rights of way. * April 24 2018 Letter to EMF Safety Network re small cells. Update: FCC WT Docket 17-79 went into effect on 1/13/2019. This info is not included in the above letter. The order adopts: new deadlines [shot clocks] for actions on small cell applications; limits on fees and rents that can be charged for small cells; new standards governing when a locality can say “no”; new standards for permissible aesthetic, under grounding, and spacing requirements.  (Please note: BBK’s letter and smart meter representation have been helpful to us, however we have received complaints that their attorneys have not been helpful for cities on 5G ordinance updates.) 
  4. Speak at public comments at city and county meetings and meet in person with city and county decision makers.  Speak to those issues with the strongest science, boil it down to basic terms and concepts, and document the claims you make. For example: Peer-reviewed published science shows harmful effects of cell tower radiation include: fatigue, headaches, sleep problems, anxiety, ringing in the ears, heart problems, learning and memory disorders, increased cancer risk, and more.  Children, the ill and the elderly are more vulnerable.  This Letter to Sebastopol 5G includes studies and quotes you can use. See also:  www.emfscientist.org   Studies of radiation impacts on wild birds documented nest abandonment, plumage deterioration and death. https://www.ntia.doc.gov/files/ntia/us_doi_comments.pdf  Peer reviewed published science shows millimeter waves adversely affect health. https://goo.gl/gbBKHL  More studies here. See also:  EU 5G Appeal International Society of Doctors for Environment 5G Appeal
    Santa Rosa on Link Lane, this one is partly dismantled due to resident protests and the city halting the installation.

    Santa Rosa on Sebastopol Road.
  5. “Small cell” tower is a junkyard on a pole! In reality these often do not look like the representational drawings the industry presents. Click on the photos to the left for a closer look.
  6. Share important news: Democracy Now reported on an investigation by The Nation “How Big Wireless Made Us Think That Cell Phones Are Safe.” and “How Big Wireless War-Gamed the Science on Risks, While Making Customers Addicted to Their Phones”
  7. When there is an application pending:  Send a letter by mail and email to the decision makers and go to the public meetings to speak out and oppose. Gather others to go to the meeting to also speak out. Make signs for the meeting! Please note: decision makers are often volunteers and they need to be educated about complex EMF science and laws. While some people feel aggressive tactics is the only way to get them to understand, practicing courtesy is also effective. You may want to ask the city to hire an independent RF specialist to prove there is a coverage gap. Here is an independent RF firm: http://www.emfservices.com/cell-towers.htm
  8. Create a flyer to circulate to let people know what’s happening and where to complain. See this sample flyer to adapt and create your own.

Other posts on 5G on EMFSN:

Landmark 5G study by New Hampshire legislative Commission recommends reducing wireless exposure

Make your own Stop 5G sign!

City of Seaside CA denies 5 cell towers

Interview with Dr. Martin Pall on the health impacts of 5G

Stop 5G March in San Rafael CA

Pollinators at risk: Honey Bee Says STOP 5G

Senator Blumenthal Raises Concerns on 5G Health Risks

New 5G Network Spurs Health Concerns

Verizon withdraws application for “small cell” towers in Sebastopol.

Take Action to oppose 5G and federal wireless expansion

Take Action! Send your comments on 5G to the FCC by March 8

FCC approves 5G

STOP cell towers on every block in California #STOPSB649

Unlocking the door:  How to successfully get through to people about wireless radiation.

Updated 9/22/2021

42 thoughts on “How to oppose 5G “small cell” towers”

  1. To the yahoos touting 5G isn’t harmful – that’s what they said about talc, cigarettes, glycosate, DDT, Sweet n low, covid shot (lol). It’s yahoo people like you saying stuff like this is ok when profound/’top’ studies show different, are the problem. You are the flat-earthers. You are the ones addicted to tech and can’t put it down. Why don’t you go spray yourselves with some roundup, fondle your 5G-wannaba phones while standing under a tower all day, take extra shots for the team and keep eating that cheeze -whiz, letting doctors do what they want to you, and let the rest of us who understand science get a handle on all this tech and trash being dumped on us without our consent.

  2. Drive by shooters are going to have a field day disabling antennas.The level of vandalism that will be directed at these devices will be astounding.
    Wireless providers won’t be able to maintain the network because of damaged equipment.
    Most cell sites run on DC power that is generated from AC grid power. The batteries have to be cooled with HVAC units or the site would burn up. The square box under the antenna is the radio. The conduit connected to the radio has fiber optic cable which usually runs to a central processing site .
    One well placed load of buck shot at the radio , antenna or conduit will disable the device.And that’s how it is going to play out. Just saying!
    I don’t fear writing this because I don’t plan on sticking around anywhere 5g is deployed. I’m old and wise and I realize that all I can do is move to an area where 5g is prohibited. The FCC has circumvented the legal process and pushed this poison on the population and there’s nothing I can do about it.
    It reads like science fiction but the facts are that 5g, man-made pathogens and so called vaccines are weapons designed to work together to depopulate the planet.
    All of this so a loser can download a movie in 10 seconds? Yeah, right.
    Sounds more like Agenda 21 to me

  3. Under Singapore’s public order laws, there is only one park in Singapore where residents are allowed to participate in public assemblies without a permit, and even a solo protest is outlawed if the police have not first given their permission.

    It will not become easy to convince people in Singapore to protest against 5g.

  4. I’m baffled by certain posts above speaking of 5G and cell phones as being safe, and that there have been no studies to support that they cause cancer. I’m not really sure how you could have that assertion based on all of the independent studies, ( not the industry, who pays the FCC to keep their mouths shut).
    They have cancer clusters all over the world because of cell phone towers…one in a university in San Diego, for example.
    There are numerous people who carry cell phones in bras or pants, whose doctors have testified that not only does their cancer appear under where the phone is kept- but that it’s even shaped like the cell phone…and yes, they show images of this.
    And as far as 5G, go look at Barry Trower, who worked with this technology in the military in the mid 1900’s…as an expert, he explains the cell/mitochondria damage, and a myriad of other major health concerns….it’s a military grade weapon.

  5. Please do not deploy 5G in Alabama, this request is an effort to keep us safe. With the high level of radioactive waves being released no one knows the damage the is is causing to people. More studies must be done by independent sources to determine the health risk before deploying.

  6. I live just a few miles away from the nursing home near Seattle where a large number of coronavirus deaths occurred. When I looked at a map of the 5g rollout in the Seattle area, I saw that the area where the nursing home is just recently got 5g. I also found that the nursing home advertises free wireless internet and I expect that the related 5ghz WiFi is also put to other uses. In addition, I found that smart meters were installed last year in the area where the nursing home is. While many multi unit buildings have more than one floor so floors which are often concrete to reduce noise also at least partially shield a large part of the building from smart meter radiation, the nursing home has only one floor. I expect that there would probably be places where smart meters for several rooms are right next to each other. With smart meters at the facility using 5g as they frequently transmit data, people in rooms with several smart meters right outside their wall would be exposed to very high levels of EMF.

    I was not surprised by what I found since I had already seen that other people had found that there is a strong correlation between the virulence of the coronavirus and locations with 5g and that the Diamond princess uses MedallionNet WiFi which is even stronger than 5g. It is notable that Singapore which won’t have 5g until later this year has not yet had any deaths even though it was the first country that the coronavirus spread to from China. I expect that as this is increasingly recognized it will become quite easy to convince people in Singapore to protest against 5g. While strong correlation doesn’t prove causation, evidence also comes from studies at major universities which found that viruses can be affected by electromagnetic fields. For example a study published in highly respected PubMed found that electromagnetic fields activated latent Epstein Barr viruses.

  7. Verizon is placing 3 antennas and a smart meter next to my townhouse. It will be 15 fet from my children bedroom. I have not been able to sleep since I heard the news. All I do is crying. My neighbors are not concerned enough to help me fight it. Please let me know what I should do.

  8. Hello,

    I am trying to get in touch with Shelley Masters, artist of the amazing 5g pic. Do you have any idea how I may contact her? Thank you SO much!!

    Sincerely,

    Liza Pirkey

  9. A 4G tower (upgradeable to 5G) has been approved to be installed across the street from my house in Escondido (PHG19-0038). I have testified (3/7/19 and 9/19/19) about the dangers to my health and family’s. I have auto-immune disease (Chrohn’s) which makes me extremely vulnerable to RF/EMF emissions. I watch my grandsons (4 &1 years old) on a regular basis. They are particularly at risk of malignancy as their youthful, thin skulls cannot resist the radiation exposure (24/7/365).
    I am at my wit’s end as to how to stop the installation. The City acts to facilitate AT&T’s plans. The appeal process is a sham: $1415 to appeal, and if overturned, AT&T can appeal that ruling.
    The City Council and Mayor are unresponsive. The activism of Encintas is encouraging in applying a moratorium on installs, but Escondido is all about paving the way for future tower installs by AT&T (and T-Mobile, Verizon). I am hoping someone sees this post and responds with names and contact information to help me protect my family and others like mine. STOP 5G!

  10. It will lead to the mark of the beast! If you want to get into heaven, try to stop 5g now… It is the precursor to the mark!

  11. An interview with Bruce Cain about 5G and activism [07/02/2019, 77′]
    Great interview with Ahava from Israel on the growing global movement against 5G/Smart Meters
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAw3rPjdWfk&feature=youtu.be

    Read the Essay: Template for activists to demand an end to 5G and Smart Meters
    Stop 5G – Stop Smart Meters. Go to your City Council and say “I will not be subjected to a 5G Lab Experiment.”
    Bruce Cain. Dearborn Heights City Council Meeting results in special study session on 5G. (05/14/2019)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n66bDszxfbs
    Bruce Cain discusses dangers of 5G and Censorship. Dearborn City Council Meeting (May 21, 2019)
    My discussion begins at 45:05
    https://cdtv.viebit.com/player.php?hash=s7nPgR9338E1
    https://www.facebook.com/notes/bruce-cain/a-template-for-activists-to-demand-an-end-to-5g-and-smart-meters-in-their-commun/3133538826672084/

  12. This is purely social and genetic engineering that was born out of the, “political” Zionist agenda. (nothing to do with Jewish individuals or Jewish faith) 5G was implemented in conjunction with Silicon Valley and was pushed through US congress by the FCC. No testing was done. They wanted to FORCE it through and use the, “excuse” of beating China to it by using, “national security” as the buzz word. Much akin to the lie of the space race to show Russia that America had clout. I am British and 5G is here in the UK also. Donald Trump has a passion. I see his strength to fight the narrative. I just hope he does the right thing but in the meantime, WE ARE BILLIONS AGAINST A FEW. WE, THE PEOPLE HAVE THE POWER.

  13. For those who say this is pseudoscience, can you show, scientifically, that this level of radiation is safe? Comparing cell phones to microwaves does not come close to acknowledging the potential cumulative effects of EMF exposure at the increasing scale we are pursuing. Additionally, what is your response to the documentation of EHS? Do you believe that just because one person doesn’t get Lyme disease from a tic carrying it, that means that it doesn’t exist? Or because two people have similar lifestyles and only one gets cancer, that cancer is not real? I see no carefully considered, scientifically sound responses to the 1,000s of studies documenting negative effects—there is not even pseudo science to support the rollout of 5G and how it will affect current and future generations of humans, other animals, plants and insects.

  14. I am so upset that a tower just went up in my neighborhood! It is not even a block from a Junior High School. I will do my best and try and fight this!!!!

  15. No one was informed about the 5G antenna being placed on a telephone poll. They are putting it up now and not one person on this street knew about it or it’s risk associated with this
    How and what can we do to stop it?
    1000 block of Tree Street Philadelphia Pa 19148

  16. How can you see the applications for the planning department? I am looking on my city’s site and I would love some help figuring this out!

  17. 5G tech was created by DARPA and the incestuous relationship with the FCC and leading lobbyists organizations for the telecom industry are getting to self regulate without being accountable to independent safety studies. Hmmm, sounds exactly like the pharma industry, and the vaccine industry, and the food industry, and the… wow, everything the government “regulates.”

  18. Sprint has turned off and is dismantling a tower in Ripon California due to parents protesting because 4 children came up with cancer. Homeland towers and my neighboring town in Dutchess co. NY want to put up a tower on my street because the neighboring town happens to own land that is part of their park and extends onto my street . We are fighting this. They are ignoring there are deed restrictions and 2 endangered/threatened species in the park. It is a 150ft monopole monster that will devalue our properties. It will slowly cook us in our homes. We have only 7 homes on our dirt road. We need help. I’m doing my best but it’s David and Goliath.

  19. Please watch two videos on you tube: Take Back Your Power and InPower Movement. The second video suggests an effective strategy to stop smart meters, etc… Let’s get more info on it and put it into action en mass. We the people have the power and authority to change the tide but we must persist and stay focused and be united in stopping this outrage against humanity, More souls are waking up to this and we can do it Health, peace, freedom, and justice for all. There are safer and healthier solutions.

  20. Dr. Martin Pall has research on the damage caused through voltage gated calcium channel receptors and how RF/EMF damage cell function/mitochondrial function. To say we would know by now if cell phones cause damage would be true if we had unbiased parties doing systematic double blinded studies- which we never get when it comes to industrial production. As a physician, I am dealing with massive deception by pharmaceutical/chemical
    Companies and it is all about soft kill depopulation tactics that are extremely profitable. We see increasing removal of rights to receive chemical treatments – all without placebo trial for any meaningful amount of time and all done inhouse. International chemical monopolies determine the standard of care. The educated will leave this country as we are still a colonial nation used to build wealth for European bankers and conglomerates.

  21. Please GOOGLE “Telecommunications Act of 1996 | Federal Communications Commission”.

    “No state or local government or instrumentality thereof may regulate the placement, construction and modification of personal wireless service facilities on the basis of the environmental effects of radio frequency emissions to the extent that such facilities comply with the Commission’s regulations concerning such emission.”

    The Federal Government has jurisdiction over the placement of any and all of these broadcasting devices. No lower government has any jurisdiction, including “we, the people”. Very scary. So when did the FCC acquire the medical credentials to study the effects of this proposed radiation on we, the people? 5G has major world-wide organizations warning of its dangers. Do we really believe that there’s a wise government looking out for our best interests or do we believe what we see every day? That is, it’s about money and those who can profit from this while the only concern for the health of the population is handled through publications written to minimize interference with this financial opportunity.

  22. Smart Meters are toxic and dangerous.
    5G is nothing more than microwave genocide.
    WiFi is toxic to every living thing in your home. Get a router, and hardwire your computers. You will be amazed at the difference!
    Throw out your Microwave oven today!
    DO NOT SLEEP WITH YOUR CELL PHONES IN THE SAME ROOM.
    GET A LANDLINE PHONE AGAIN, AND ANSWERING MACHINE.
    THERE IS A MASSIVE BACKBONE FIBER OPTIC NETWORK THAT WAS PUT IN PLACE BACK IN THE MID TO LATE 1980’S!
    I KNOW AS I HELPED PUT IN JUST A SMALL SECTION OF THE NATIONWIDE NETWORK! IT IS ALREADY THERE, DEMAND ACCESS NOW!

  23. I have been hand writing different kinds of fact sheets with resource lists and spending a small fortune at Staples to copy…then i fold each and tuck them into product right in the store (calendar planning books, portfolios, etc). Also, in libraries, books on shelves. i drop them in random neighborhoods, in mailboxes, never returning. not setting any sort of driving pattern, so as not to be noticed, or targeted. Everywhere i can tuck them, i do.

  24. Anyone who agrees with 5g is a human-race traitor and needs to be HUNG!!!

  25. This has to stop. I am getting headaches EVERY time I’m in an area with 5G. It shows on my phone. As I leave the area and the 5G disappears from my phone the headache dissipates. Also I’m getting burning itching on my arms and I left my phone in another part of the house last night just to see what might be different. The burning went away until I used my phone this morning.
    Why do they have to make it so hard and complicated to stop this? Who can I sue?

  26. we must stop the cell companies from putting up 5g tower’s at all cost . The cell companies don’t care about our children’s future health and freedom.

  27. The photo at the top of this page is of the “first” attempt to erect a Verizon 5G rig. You should see my pictures! The thing was installed at an angle to the street (not quite vertically). I passed it every day after work and could swear the thing was leaning more and more. This January, it collapsed in the rain and fell to the ground. They’ve just started a redo; The radios are on a short wooden pole with no antennas in sight. (Keep up the good work, tower guys!)

  28. Crazy. I work in the industry and this is pseuodo-science. Not all 5G is created equal. One carrier it launching at 600Mhz as an example. Cell phones have been in use for decades which is ample enough time to see long term studies. The amount of “radiation” coming from a modile handset is less that half of a microwave oven at much less power and roughly 1000x that of a FM radio transmission.
    You have RF everywhere from everything. Radio, television, wi-fi, bluetooth, walkie talkies, satellites, etc. It just goes and goes.
    Small cell is a way to enrich the end user experience by removing the bottlenecks and bring service to the user. The more compression and the higher the frequency the less penetration the signals have. A high compression frequency does not penetrate buildings, trees, etc very well so small cell is put into place to ensure good service in an area that has more users or has a weaker signal.
    There are also TONS of sites (towers) you dont even know about because they are hidden.
    Please, do your research because this is almost as bad as flat earth logic.

  29. 5g is comprised of what is known as “nonionized radiation”. This means it is not capable of damaging DNA, the way uv and other ionized radiations do. Further, there has never been a single sickness or cancer attributed to cellphones. Brain tumors have risen by 34% in the last 20 years, but doctors believe this increase reflects our ability to find them better due to increases in technology, rather than a genuine increase in existing tumors.

    This article is fear mongering and lacks any backing evidence beyond conjecture and hearsay.

  30. I’m a systems engineer. I’m very concerned about 5G FR2.
    FR2 is going to use the 24Ghz – 86Ghz spectrum. We are not talking Wifi 5Ghz.. it’s much higher than that. I guess one way to explain the danger to a non techie is the higher the frequency is, the lower power needs to be to penetrate organic tissue.
    I told my wife if 5G rolls out in our town maybe it would be time to check out her Grandfather’s property in St. Michaels.

    If 5G does get rolled out and there’s a damn 5G antenna outside my house, I’ll sue the wireless carrier for the loss of value to our property. Maybe if everyone sues them it would be a deterrent to a 5G roll out.

    The Wireless Telecom industry brought some good but a lot of bad to society. It’s a social disease. People are too addicted to their smartphones.

  31. From what I know the Earth heals us, but we still mess it up. This must be be stopped. I don’t see it any other way.

  32. Cell towers keep running 24/7 like a slow cooker – affect your cells from inside . Mother nature does not do this as I know

  33. Paul, the radiation is inescapable, and would always be present. How would you suggest we use it in “moderation”? When they show you scientific, peer-reviewed proof that it is extremely harmful, why would you argue otherwise? Add common sense, and think about it …To those that always have to bring up “the rich”, please stop! Such a tired, ineffective attempt to divide. We need to unite and solve. I’m pretty sure no one wants to bake in the EMF’s- so let’s get it stopped. I don’t care about who has the most money. Our mission should be to stop those doing the most EVIL, (and there is a difference).

  34. One minute standing in sunlight, which is over 1,000 watts/sq meter, is more than 10 years of radiation from a 5 G cell tower. It is also of a higher frequency for the most part. Further more neither one is harmful in moderation. Consider, too much water will drown you but too little and you will also die. What is too much of anything? Please consider power levels which I notice you ignore.

  35. I am appalled that people don’t get it, why do you want 5 g in your community? It is pathetic! You push away Christianity but welcome your sickness with more technology that doesn’t have to be it is just a money maker for the elite get it? Dah

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