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| «Latest ‹Forward News item: 4423 Back› Oldest» |
| "The EC should ensure that policies for electromagnetic fields are consistent with World Health Organization recommendations." | |
| Germany | Created: 9 Nov 2009 |
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Mobile Manifesto Roll-out support – remove barriers to eco-efficient coverage expansion The EC should encourage member state governments to review and streamline country and town planning procedures to facilitate faster and wider roll-out of mobile broadband. Frameworks should also be put in place at a national level for specific exemptions, and/or public-private investment, for eco-efficient towers and masts. Fragmented national planning policies and requirements for multiple authorisations create significant delays and uncertainties in mobile network deployments, as well as increasing the costs of roll-out143. Governments should review these to ensure consistent good practice, and address community concerns through education and other means. The review should weigh the benefits of prohibiting towers and masts in ‘Right of Way’ areas against the increased costs (and decreased breadth therefore) of roll-out if these areas are not used. Specific exemptions for eco-efficient towers and masts would also have a significant impact. Base stations can account for up to 90% of a mobile network’s total energy consumption144. Energy efficiency can be improved through multiple techniques including the use of renewables. Solar-powered base stations, for example, can reduce site energy consumption by up to 30%145 and would significantly reduce mobile’s carbon footprint. European operators are already conducting trials to roll out solar-powered base stations. Mobile equipment manufacturers have also committed themselves to conducting parallel R&D. Public and private investment could also be considered for the roll-out of energy efficient base stations. India’s Department of Telecoms for example recently announced a scheme to utilise part of its USO fund to subsidise the installation of mobile towers that run on renewable sources of energy such as wind or solar 146. To supplement public subsidies, the EC and national governments can also play a role in encouraging private investments in renewables – in particular through the creation of favourable frameworks and regulatory environments. The EC should ensure that policies for electromagnetic fields are consistent with World Health Organization recommendations. There are some community concerns about the siting of cell sites related to exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) – although this is not among EU citizens’ top ten environmental worries 147. Typical exposure from base stations however is lower than European and international exposure recommendations. Exposure is in the 0.002%-2% range which is lower than, or at least comparable to, RF exposure from radio or television broadcast transmitters 148. The World Health Organization has concluded that: ‘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. 149 143 Building Mobile Networks: European Mobile Operator Responses to Public Concerns, Nov 2007, GSMA. Note: GSMA Europe is working on an update to the planning section, including delays 144 World’s Most Energy Efficient Base Station Wins Best Network Technology Advance at GSMA Global Mobile Awards 2009, Nokia Siemens Networks 145 World’s Most Energy Efficient Base Station Wins Best Network Technology Advance at GSMA Global Mobile Awards 2009, Nokia Siemens Networks 146 USO Funds For Renewable Energy-Powered Cell Towers, Jul 2009, The Hindu Business Line 147 Eurobarometer Special Survey: Electromagnetic Fields, 2007, European Commission 148 Electromagnetic Fields and Public Health, May 2006, WHO 149 Electromagnetic Fields and Public Health, May 2006, WHO 2015 European Mobile Manifesto Legal information 30 While most countries of the European Union follow the European Council recommendation of 1998, in some, policies have been adopted that impose lower limits for exposure to radio signals 150. These policies are not based on scientific evidence of established health risks; rather they are a political response to public concern. One consequence of EMF restrictions is that it may act as a barrier to site sharing (which is elaborated below). For example, it may be virtually impossible for antennas to share rooftops; this has been reported for Switzerland where the limits are 10 times more restrictive than the European Council recommendation 151. We request that the EC continue to support science-based EMF exposure limits and that it encourages member states to review policies to remove non-scientific restrictions. This is in line with the European Parliament vote of April 2009 calling for continued review of EMF recommendations and siting policies determined by scientific criteria 152. The EC should encourage commercially-based infrastructure sharing, where it is technically feasible, to promote Mobile manifesto” |
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| Click here to view the source article. | |
| Source: Iris Atzmon/MN | |
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