Have you ever heard of such hypocrites as Birmingham City Council!
On the one hand they want closed a loophole that allows the industry to install masts near shools and homes.
On the other hand they brag over that they are going to contaminate the whole of the City Centre with WiFi.
Where do these people (Councilors) come from?
Certainly not the same globe as us!
At the bottom of the first story (pls use the link to go to Birmingham post) there are links to e-mail/web-mail and message board for comments on this story. Please write.
Best regards.
Agnes
P.S. I have written, and I have put a link to the petition on there.
I just hope they read it and put it up, and if they do that they put the link in as well.
Agnes
Loophole allows phone mast near school
The Government is being urged to close a legal loophole which allowed a mobile phone mast to be sited 50 yards yards from a Birmingham infants school without planning permission being sought.
Phone company O2 won the right to attach telecommunications antennae to a CCTV mast overlooking St Nicholas Junior and Infants School at Sutton Coldfield, despite the opposition of Birmingham City Council.
The company's victory flies in the face of council planning policy, which seeks to resist the siting of phone masts in sensitive locations near to schools and houses.
Council officials admitted defeat after a two-year battle, which began in January 2004 when planning permission was granted to place three 13 metre CCTV camera support columns in the grounds of Concorde House, at Boldmere.
Concorde House is owned by Arden Acquisition and Planning Ltd - telecommunications consultants acting on behalf of mobile phone companies.
Shortly after being installed, one of the columns was replaced by a wider column and an O2 mobile phone mast was attached underneath the CCTV camera. Planning permission was not applied for.
The mast was removed after the council threatened legal action.
In the summer of 2005, O2 invoked emergency powers under the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order, which allows a telecommunications operator to install a mobile phone mast for a period of six months where the equipment has become unserviceable. O2 installed a trailer-based mast at the rear of Concorde House.
The council again threatened legal action, claiming that the new mast could not have had consent since it was replacing an unauthorised installation. The matter went to planning appeal, where the council lost.
The council, having sought legal advice, decided to take no further action.
The advice of counsel was that the installation was permitted development because the column fell within the definition of a structure and that mobile phone companies are allowed to install antennae without gaining planning permission.
Clive Dutton, director of planning and regeneration at the council, is urging the Government to change the law.
"This installation clearly circumvents the policy guideline which discourages mobile phone installations being sited adjacent to educational institutions."
paul_dale @mrn.co.uk
Should companies be allowed to site phone masts next to schools or should the loophole be closed? Let us know your opinion by email, messageboard or send a web letter to the editor
By Paul Dale
Chief Reporter
Nov 21 2006
http://icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk/birminghampost/news/tm_headline=loophole-allows-phone-mast-near-school%26method=full%26objectid=18129441%26siteid=50002-name_page.html#story_continue
Wireless on the streets of Brum
Birmingham has confirmed that it is at the forefront of exploiting digital technology by signing an agreement with BT for the creation of a street-based wireless city communications network.
The agreement forms part of the Digital Birmingham initiative, a partnership between Birmingham City Council, and other public, private and voluntary sector organisations who share the ambition to establish Birmingham as the leading European digital city by 2010.
The Wireless Birmingham Wi-Fi network will cover a square mile area of the city centre. The formal agreement is part of BT’s Wireless Cities initiative, which will see Birmingham leading the way in early 2007, followed by other major UK cities in the first phase of an ongoing programme.
Birmingham’s plans are the most advanced of the cities that signed up for the programme in May.
Coun Paul Tilsley, deputy leader of the City Council, said: "The Wireless Birmingham agreement is a clear demonstration of how well we have worked in partnership with BT – who are making a significant financial investment to establish this network.
"It shows the commitment both sides of the partnership have to ensuring Birmingham is recognised as at the leading edge of digital developments and that the city becomes the first truly sustainable wireless city in conjunction with a private sector partner.
"The project offers endless opportunities and possibilities – not least of which is to enable us to deliver our services in a creative and innovative way. Many cities have plans to implement such wireless networks, but this agreement shows we are serious about competing on a national and international stage when it comes to establishing the technological facilities that today’s world requires."
BT will fund the city centre network, with the city council providing access to its street lamp posts in order to create the essential infrastructure.
In a groundbreaking innovation, people with laptops, mobile phones, hand-held computers and gaming devices using Wi-Fi (the industry standard for connecting devices wirelessly to the web) will be able to access information and services from the city council free of charge through an internet portal.
The portal will give free access over the network to Birmingham-specific information relating to topics such as health, transport, events, and schools while people are out and about in the city centre.
It will also enable the council to provide free wireless access to educational information anywhere within the city centre, including the city’s 50,000 higher education students, using the same technology they are familiar with as it is already installed in many schools and colleges.
As well as the free services, people will be able to buy vouchers or subscribe to innovative services such as BT Openzone and Fusion, and a range of new applications and services for consumers and businesses, allowing them to remain contactable, access broadband wirelessly and surf the web whilst on the move.
The city council will also use the BT Wireless Cities network to pilot a range of pioneering initiatives which will improve the delivery of a range of public services, from the spring. These could include: mobile office devices for Birmingham street wardens, who provide face-to-face assistance and security for the people, visitors and business owners of Birmingham; and Wireless CCTV, which will be used for city centre management, security and parking services.
On successful completion of a pilot, it is the intention of both parties to formalise an agreement for the future running of the service.
The partners say that the initial coverage area will maximise citizen and business benefit by including the professional district, the ICC, NIA and Brindleyplace, Broad Street, the Jewellery Quarter, Eastside, Digbeth, and the main retail areas. Aston Science Park and Millennium Point are also to have coverage from day one.
The development and operational costs of the network will be borne entirely by BT – there is no cost burden on the taxpayer for the provision and management of the network.
Frank Mills, BT’s West Midlands regional director, said: "It is a real testament to how forward-thinking and ambitious Birmingham City Council is in wanting to reap the benefits that a BT Wireless Cities network can bring. This is one of the first of many licensing and applications agreements BT is planning with local authorities around the UK.
"Key to the success of this agreement has been that BT and Birmingham City Council have worked closely together to ensure we’re not just rolling out a network of hotspots, but guaranteeing that the council has the right applications in place to make wireless public services work for every resident, every council worker, every business owner and every tourist.
"We believe that partnering with local authorities is the most successful model for creating a true Wireless City and the people of Birmingham will notice a significant difference in the way they can use the network on a range of devices for entertainment, education and communication, even when they’re on the move."
Birmingham City Council and BT are founder members of the Digital Birmingham partnership, which aims to establish Birmingham as the leading European Digital City by 2010.
http://icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk/birminghampost/business/scitech/tm_method=full%26objectid=18132659%26siteid=50002-name_page.html
By Steve Pain
Technology Editor
Nov 21 2006
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Health fears lead schools to dismantle wireless networks
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/2957963/
