Mobile mast near Cork Apple headquarters set ablaze in suspected 5G arson attack

The mast that was set ablaze Photo: Cork City Councillor Mick Nugent

Adrian Weckler Twitter Email

April 23 2020 12:37 PM

Another mobile telecoms mast has been set ablaze with Gardai in Cork investigating a possible arson attack.

The Eir mast, close to Apple’s Hollyhill headquarters on Cork’s northside, had to be treated by firefighters after the damage was spotted on Wednesday night.

Eir has confirmed that the mast was not being used for 5G, but was being updated to give better 3G and 4G coverage to nearby St Mary’s Health campus and the Apple campus.

It’s the second suspected arson attack on a mobile mast in the country this month, as conspiracy theories continue to link the current 5G roll out with health scares.

On Easter Sunday, a 4G Eir mast designed to improve coverage for Letterkenny Hospital was set on fire in what Gardai say is suspected criminal damage.

Last week, Facebook Ireland began removing posts by anti-5G campaigners calling for masts to be “burned down”.

Some anti-5G activists on Irish Facebook groups have posted theories that the current Covid-19 pandemic was “preplanned” as a cover to allow for the speedier rollout of 5G.

Medical, regulatory and scientific authorities in Ireland, Europe and the UN have asserted that there is no adverse health effect from 5G, 4G or 3G mobile services.

Earlier this month, the telecoms regulator greenlighted additional spectrum capacity for the mobile operators, to help vital services and people working from home.

Operators here say that usage of mobile services has risen by up to 50pc in the last two months.

The attacks come as Virgin Mobile announced that it is making all of its mobile plans unlimited until June 30th. The move means that it will not enforce its ‘fair use’ limit on unlimited packages during this time, meaning that customers will be able to use more than the 80GB limit on the unlimited packages.