| Q |
What is a base station? |
| A |
Radio base stations enable mobile phones to work. Base stations
receive signals from mobiles - which are low-powered two-way radios
- and transmit them to other mobile or fixed networks. Commonly
called 'masts', their antennas can be attached to a freestanding
mast or existing structures such as roof tops or water towers. |
| Q |
How many are there and will this number increase? |
| A |
At the start of 2008 there were around 50,300 base station sites in the UK, with two thirds of these on existing buildings or structures. To keep up with the massive growth in mobile phone use and the introduction of advanced third generation (3G) services, (there are over 70 million mobile phone subscriptions in the UK, compared to 9 million seven years ago), more base stations will have to be built.
|
| Q |
Why do we need them?
|
| A |
Without base stations, calls cannot be made.
If base stations are too far away from each other, holes in coverage
appear and calls are interrupted 'or dropped' when mobile users are
on the move. |
| Q |
Why do we need more? |
| A |
Radio waves only travel a certain distance
and base stations can only carry a limited number of calls at the
one time. To meet increasingly high demand in busy areas, more base
stations are needed. |
| Q |
Why is there not just one network which all operators could use? |
| A |
The reason there are five mobile phone networks in the UK is that the Government, to promote effective and sustainable competition, granted licences to the operators under the Telecommunications Act 1984 and Wireless Telegraph Act (1949 and 1998), requiring the five operators to build and operate independent mobile phone networks. It would require changes by Government to the regulations associated with telecoms before five individual operator networks could consider being combined into one.
|
| Q |
Will new technologies, such as 4G, result in even more base stations? |
| A |
The number of base stations required in the future depends on a number of factors, these include the technology used, the transmission frequency and power, the amount of radio spectrum made available to each operator and the use and reuse of infrastructure. While some new base stations will be required, it is considered unlikely that the introduction of new technologies will have a significant increase in site requirements since the existing 2G and 3G infrastructure will be reused as much as possible to constrain the high costs associated with acquisition and deployment of new sites.
|
| Q |
Why do they have to be outside my house? |
| A |
Base stations are built where customers need
coverage. They are usually placed about 200-500m apart in towns and
2-5km apart in rural areas, but operators do all they can to ensure
they are sensitively placed. Under new siting procedures called "The
Ten Commitments", operators have put in place procedures to
consult local planners and local communities before a planning application
is lodged. |
| Q |
Why can't you share the mast down the road? |
| A |
Operators share masts whenever they can,
but this is not always possible. Site sharing means more than one
antenna is on a mast, making it taller and more visually intrusive.
In some cases, the community and local planners may prefer several
smaller masts rather than one large one. Also, different radio frequencies
used by separate operators may interfere with each other and prevent
site sharing. |
| Q |
Why can't base stations be more attractive? |
| A |
Where possible, operators try to prevent
masts from blotting the landscape. Slim line versions with a smaller
head frames are being introduced. They can be painted to blend in
with their surroundings, disguised as trees or placed on street lamps.
Base station antennas can also be put on structures like roof tops,
high voltage electricity pylons or large radio communication masts. |
| Q |
Why are antennas hidden behind street signs,
shop fronts etc? |
| A |
Microcells - tiny radio base station antennas
- help operators meet high customer demand in busy areas. They are
usually mounted at street level on external walls, lamp posts or
neon shop signs and can often be disguised as building features.
Microcells are typically about 300m-1km apart and have lower radio
wave outputs than larger base stations. |
| Q |
What can I do if I don't like where a base
station is going to be built? |
| A |
Your first point of call should be the local planning authority,
which represents the local community and is kept up to date about
mast development by network operators. On top of this, each operator
has pledged to respond to enquiries and complaints about radio
base stations within 10 working days. Contact numbers for operators
are:
- O2: 01753 564 390
- T-mobile: 0870 321 6047
- Orange: 0800 783 5021
- Vodafone: 0163 567 7706
- 3: 0845 604 3000
|
| Q |
Who do the operators consult when planning
a new base station? |
| A |
It depends on the type of development. The
operators want to strike a proper balance between access to popular
mobile services in the UK and the need to be environmentally and
socially responsible when building the networks that support them.
To this end, clear procedures are in place for consulting the public,
community groups, schools, parish councils or local planning authorities
about proposed mobile base station sites. |
| Q |
Is living near a base station bad for my
health? |
| A |
In December 2003, the NRPB's Independent Advisory
Group on Non-ionising Radiation (AGNIR) published a report that concluded
that exposure levels from living near to mobile phone base stations
are extremely low, and the overall evidence indicates that they are
unlikely to pose a risk to health. The full report is available at
www.hpa.org.uk Similarly, the World Health Organisation in its ‘Base stations and wireless technologies’ fact sheet issued in May 2006, concludes 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.” The full text of the fact sheet is available at www.who.int/peh-emf/en/
In September 2007 the MTHR Programme Management Committee published a progress report on the programme and concluded that: “None of the research supported by the Programme and published so far demonstrates that biological or adverse health effects are produced by radiofrequency exposure from mobile phones.” The report also notes that measurements of radio signals from base stations show that exposures are well below international guidelines. A full copy of the report can be downloaded at: http://www.mthr.org.uk/documents/MTHR_report_2007.pdf |
| Q |
What about cancer clusters being reported near base stations? |
| A |
Media or anecdotal reports of cancer clusters around mobile phone base stations have heightened public concern. The World Health Organisation in its ‘Base stations and wireless technologies’ fact sheet issued in May 2006, state that: “It should be noted that geographically, cancers are unevenly distributed among any population. Given the widespread presence of base stations in the environment, it is expected that possible cancer clusters will occur near base stations merely by chance. Moreover, the reported cancers in these clusters are often a collection of different types of cancer with no common characteristics and hence unlikely to have a common cause.” The full text of the fact sheet is available at www.who.int/peh-emf/en/ |
| Q |
Then why is more research being conducted? |
| A |
Although concluding that the balance of evidence does not suggest that mobile phones and base stations operating within international health and safety radiofrequency exposure guidelines adversely affect human health, the Stewart Report called for a precautionary approach until gaps in scientific knowledge are filled. The operators backed this call and, in conjunction with other companies in the mobile phone industry, funded half of a three-year £7.4 million independent research programme into mobile phones and health. The programme was known as the Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research (MTHR) Programme. Details of the programme and its independent Management Committee can be found at www.mthr.org.uk |
| Q |
Have any results of the MTHR programme been published? |
| A |
Yes. In September 2007 the MTHR Programme Management Committee published a progress report on the programme and concluded that:“None of the research supported by the Programme and published so far demonstrates that biological or adverse health effects are produced by radiofrequency exposure from mobile phones.” The report also notes that measurements of radio signals from base stations show that exposures are well below international guidelines. A full copy of the report can be downloaded at: http://www.mthr.org.uk/documents/MTHR_report_2007.pdf |
| Q |
Is any further research required? |
| A |
Commenting on the results of the MTHR programme the then Chairman of the Programme Management Committee, Professor Lawrie Challis, said that, "the results are so far re-assuring but there is still a need for more research, especially to check that no effects emerge from longer-term phone use from adults and from use by children". As a result, a second MTHR programme is now being established and the five mobile phone network operators, along with government and other companies in the industry, have agreed to provide funding to it. |
Q
|
Who monitors the levels of radio frequency
emissions from base stations? |
| A |
The Office of Communications
– Ofcom, (previously the Radiocommunications Agency) since
December 2000 has been conducting random audits in the UK to confirm
that radio frequency emissions from mobile phone base stations comply
with public exposure guidelines, which are set by the International
Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation (ICNIRP). These audits are
ongoing. So far, the surveys of base stations have shown than even
maximum levels of exposure are tiny fractions of the guidelines.
More information can be found on the Ofcom
website.
The National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB), now part of
the Health Protection Agency (HPA), has also carried out some measurement
surveys of radio frequency emissions in the vicinity of mobile phone
base stations and other transmitters. More information can be found
on the HPA
website
The Commission for Communications Regulation (Comreg) is the licensing
authority for the use of the radio frequency spectrum in Ireland
and it also has an on-going programme of base station audits. Similar
results have been found to those of Ofcom. More information can
be found on the Comreg
website. |
| Q |
Should under 16’s use mobile phones? |
| A |
The use of mobile phones by the under 16s is a matter of parental choice and responsibility. Mobile technology offers reassurance to parents and children who value being able to stay in touch with one another. Parents are able to weigh up these benefits against health concerns when making choices about their children’s mobile phone use.
All mobile phones sold in the UK comply with international health and safety exposure guidelines set by independent experts and adopted for use by the European Council of Health Ministers in 1999. The guidelines apply to all sections of the population including children. |
| Q |
Why are masts still being built on schools
when a precautionary approach has been adopted? |
| A |
To date, the balance of evidence from scientific
research does not suggest that living near a base station causes
adverse health effects. But in the light of continuing concern by
some members of the community, operators who wish to build near or
on a school must consult local planners, carry out extra public consultation
and contact the school's governing body before applying to doing
so. |
| Q |
What is 3G technology? |
| A |
Third Generation (3G) is a term used to describe
the next generation of mobile phone systems. The advanced technology
includes internet access and the ability to view video footage. 2G,
also known as GSM, is the current second generation technology. For
further information see 3G
Fact Sheet. For an in-depth technical briefing on how General
Packet Radio Services (GPRS) and Wideband Code Division Multiple Access
(WCDMA) systems work, please see the MOA's
report. |
| Q |
When will 3G technology begin operating? |
| A |
3G technology became operational in the
UK during 2003.
|
| Q |
If more than one operator is sharing or
is co-located on a site/mast, are the emission levels increased? |
| A |
Generally, yes, but not by very much.
A shared site is likely to have higher emission levels than a single
operator site, although each operator might be transmitting at
different power levels, different frequencies and different antenna
heights and directions. Shared sites are checked and certified
for compliance with the international health and safety public
exposure guidelines (ICNIRP) and the resulting emission levels
will still be many times below them.
Since 2000, Ofcom has undertaken more than 500 random audits of
base station emissions; some of these sites were shared or co-located.
The measurements from these audits show that emission levels from
base stations are typically small fractions of the international
health and safety public exposure guidelines (ICNIRP). The results
of these audits can be found at: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/sitefinder/audits/
|
| Q |
When new 3G antennas are added to an existing
base station site/mast, will the emissions increase? |
| A |
As with a shared site, the emissions will
increase slightly but the resultant levels will still be a small
fraction of the ICNIRP health and safety public exposure guidelines.
As an example, a recent site adapted for 3G by an operator went from
being 830 times below the guidelines to 770 times below |
| Q |
What about the cumulative emissions from
base stations that are closely distributed, for example a number
of operators put up antennas on the floodlight pylons of a sports
club? |
| A |
All co-located sites, including closely distributed
masts, are included within the process used by the network operators
to ensure compliance with the international health and safety public
exposure guidelines (ICNIRP). As a result of radiowaves decreasing
rapidly with distance, (as an approximation, each doubling of distance
reduces the field by a quarter), antenna structures can be within
a few metres of each other and areas where the public can gain free
and reasonable access will still remain well below the ICNIRP health
and safety public exposure guidelines. |
| Q |
How can the operators be so sure that shared
sites and co-locations are compliant with the ICNIRP health and safety
public exposure guidelines? |
| A |
The network operators design safety zones
around the antennas at shared base station sites assuming worst-case
conditions, i.e. maximum power levels. In practice, the cumulative
power levels are a lot less due to a number of factors including
the orientation and height of the antennas and variations in different
operators’ mobile phone traffic levels at any given time. |
| Q |
If I still have concerns regarding the cumulative
emission levels from a co-located or shared site what can I do? |
| A |
Ofcom has been auditing radiowave emission
levels from base station sites since 2000 and if approached, will
consider carrying out a measurement audit of the emissions from a
base station site. A request can be made to Ofcom via their website
at
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/sitefinder/sitefinder |
