After a 1993 lawsuit charged a woman’s brain tumor was the result of her cellular phone use, the wireless industry funded an independent research program to study any possible link between brain cancer or any other health maladies and the use of cellular phones. It was a good idea.
It remains a good idea.
However, along the way, the group that was chosen-Wireless Technology Research L.L.C.-performed some public-relations functions. And the problems began.
The perception that WTR worked side-by-side with industry and the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association will be used by lawyers and anti-tower activists to question the credibility of research performed by WTR.
This is a crucial time for wireless. As the industry begins to build out new personal communications services, it is going to have to fight-unfounded or not-the fears of people who don’t want towers near their homes, their children. Despite a pretty clear federal law that says cities cannot stop tower buildout based on unfounded RF exposure fears, the PCS industry is already experiencing how cities can delay buildout.
Because of all this, it is time for the industry to fund a study that details what happens to rats over their lifetimes when they are exposed to RF emissions from cellular phones.
And this time, the industry must step away from the research group. The research scientists must not do anything but research.
Frankly, the industry doesn’t need a research group to perform public-affairs duties. Remember how handset manufacturers’ stocks plummeted after the initial brain cancer scare? Because of that, every cellular handset manufacturer already should have a media strategy in place to answer questions on health-and-safety issues. CTIA and PCIA also should have a strategy in place to answer questions as the need arises.
Keep the research scientists independent from all that. Don’t look to these scientists for answers or opinions or anything until after their research is completed. Keep the fire wall between industry and this group of researchers strong.
Manufacturers-which likely have some of the best RF scientists in the world on staff-can do their own studies replicating the studies of the independent research group. This is a sound practice, anyway.
It is time to do the research.
It is time to build the body of research.
And it is time to keep the independent research group independent.
