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Telecoms Training Workshops Q&A
Since the Autumn 2007 edition of Open Line, 27 MOA/operator telecoms training workshops have been provided for councils across the country. Councils holding workshops have included Lewes, Chester-le-Street, Stockport and Sandwell.
In this edition of Open Line, we answer some questions posed to us by councillors who attended these workshops regarding mobile phone mast deployment in their area:
| Q |
I understand there are likely to be some more applications for mobile phone masts this year. Aren’t there enough masts already? |
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| A |
There are now 74 million mobile connections in the UK. Without a network of radio base stations in the places where people live and work their mobile phones simply will not work
Operators build base stations when needed because the local signal is weak or there are too many existing callers for the local system to cope. Base stations are not cheap to build so it is not done unnecessarily.
The actual number of new base stations required in your area will depend on a range of factors. However, the key issue is consumer demand for mobile coverage and services. The more phones there are in use and the more people use them, the more base stations are required to ensure there is sufficient coverage and capacity in the network. |
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| Q |
Will the new masts be built close to people's homes? |
| A |
Each mobile phone base station only has a limited coverage and can only handle a limited number of calls at any one time. The base stations need to be located close to where people use their mobile phones. This often means that base stations often need to be located in, or close to, residential areas. |
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| Q |
What if the local community objects to the proposals? |
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| A |
The mobile network operators, through their Ten Commitments to Best Siting Practice, have put in place a system of community consultation which aims to ensure local people are consulted on proposals for new mobile phone masts before a planning application is submitted to a planning authority. There are many examples where, through this community consultation process,
both the operators and local community agree on the most appropriate location and design for a new mast.
In addition to the voluntary pre-application consultation through the Ten Commitments, statutory consultation is undertaken by the planning authority as part of its consideration of a planning application. This means that local communities are given two opportunities to have their say on new base station proposals in their area. |
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| Q |
Why don't you share more masts? |
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| A |
Site and mast sharing by operators is and will always
remain a priority. At present around two thirds of mobile phone network radio base stations in the UK are located on shared masts or other existing buildings or structures. However, it may not be possible or be the most appropriate environmental solution in every case.
Mast sharing means there is more than one set of antennas on a mast, often making the structure taller. In addition the mast structure needs to be more robust, as it needs to support greater weight, so it may become more visually intrusive. In some cases local planning authorities and communities prefer to see several smaller masts, rather than one large mast, because smaller masts can have less visual impact.
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| Q |
Some people are concerned about health effects. What do you say to them? |
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| A |
We understand that some people have concerns about mobile phones and masts and health and it is important that these concerns are addressed openly and transparently by scientists, government, and industry.
More than 30 independent authoritative expert scientific reviews undertaken both in the UK and around the world, including the World Health Organisation, during the past eight years have not found adverse health effects for adults or children caused by mobile phone base stations operating within the ICNIRP public exposure guidelines used in the UK.
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The World Health Organisation published a Fact Sheet in May 2006 on mobile phone masts which concludes: "Considering the very low exposure levels and research results collected to date, there is no convincing scientific evidence that the weak RF signals from base stations and wireless networks cause adverse health effects."
The WHO stated in 2005 that; "To date, all expert reviews on the health consequences of exposure to RF fields have reached the same conclusion: There have been no adverse health consequences established from exposure to RF fields at levels below the international guidelines on exposure limits published by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection." |
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| Q |
Why are you continuing to support research? |
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| A |
While the evidence is reassuring, there remain gaps in scientific understanding that can only be addressed by further research. The Mobile Telecommunications Health Research (MTHR) report concluded that there are still some remaining uncertainties and the UK operators have agreed to support ongoing research work by MTHR in line with the WHO research agenda.
As with the first phase of the MTHR programme, the only involvement the operators have is to provide funding for the research to take place. All decisions on which studies to fund are taken by the MTHR Programme Management Committee. Research results are published in the open scientific literature. |
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