OXFORD, United Kingdom-The U.K. Court of Appeal has overturned a ruling that prohibited local authorities from considering health concerns when reviewing applications for cell-phone masts. This decision, which has been welcomed by pressure groups in the United Kingdom, is likely to cause a significant slowdown in the deployment of mobile base stations as objections are raised over the siting of the masts.
Following this move, U.K. cell-phone operators announced a 10-point action plan intended to address much of the controversy that has come to surround mast sites during the past two years and combat misleading claims concerning health risks.
Mike Dolan, director of the Mobile Telecoms Advisory Group, said the action plan also covered issues, such as funding for further research on the effect of cell-phone masts and closer liaison with local authorities over how mast sites are chosen. “We are making excellent progress with most of our aims, and a steering group is looking at how to streamline site-sharing plans,” he said.
However, despite a lack of scientific evidence that cell-phone masts are dangerous, most observers believe the ruling could now mean that it would be up to Britain’s third-generation (3G) license holders to prove cell-phone masts are safe before getting approval-a requirement that is expected to delay the deployment of 3G services in the United Kingdom.
Some 3G license holders claim that any further tightening of the rules on radiation levels from base station masts could increase deployment costs by 30 percent.
