Residents to protest 5G technology rollout in Stafford County
As the Stafford County Government works to implement its smart city community, a group of concerned citizens is ringing the alarm bell when it comes to the county’s implementation of 5G wireless technology.
Virginians for Safe Technology will hold a protest in Stafford in conjunction with an event called International Stop 5G Day. The grassroots organization has expressed concerns about implementing 5G technology.
The county has partnered with the Center for Innovative Technology in Virginia to erect multiple 5G wireless towers that will be used to power the county’s smart city initiative. The technology will be used do every from monitor traffic conditions to help tourist find their destinations.
The county started working on the project last summer. A public information session about the smart city project is planned at the Stafford County Government Center, at 1300 Courthouse Road on May 25.
So far, at least $1 million of federal and private monies have been spent on the smart city project, said Stafford County Economic Development Director John Holden.
This weekend, Virginians for Safe Technology will focus its protest on the potential dangers of 5G. Jenny DeMarco, a member of the group, hopes that the protest will bring in her words “awareness, education, and action (specifically via signatures on our petition and more community involvement) to sponsor and enable legislation to protect the public safety of residents, mainly the children, from the blanketing of the county with 5G microwave radiation.”
Stafford recently took the first step back in February by installing two mini-5G towers provided by Verizon. One was placed alongside Courthouse Road. The other was placed in the Stafford County Government Center’s parking lot. The official launch for the smart city testbed is scheduled to launch later in March.
Stafford is the first locality in Virginia to become a smart city testbed. Some see it as a boon for the county, while Virginians for Safe Technology says the project brings potential danger to the health of the county’s residents and its environment.
There will be similar protests held in Colorado and Vermont as well as internationally in France, Belgium, India, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, in addition to Stafford County.
The protest will be held at the Fredericksburg YMCA at 212 Butler Road on Saturday, March 20, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Gloss