World-News

nlnews @archant.co.uk

22 November 2006

NEIL MORRISSEY outside his home in Mount View Road, where the phone mast could be situated

TV star Neil Morrissey is leading residents into battle against the latest attempt to install a mobile phone mast opposite their homes.

Hutchison 3G UK has appealed Haringey Council's rejection of its application for a 13.5 metre mast on Crouch End Reservoir land off Mount View Road to the planning inspectorate.

But furious residents say the mast will emit radiation that may affect health and spoil sweeping views over London.

Mr Morrissey, 44, the Men Behaving Badly star and voice of Bob the Builder, has lived in the area for around 20 years. He said: "What annoys me is these things seem to be popping up all over the place. Apart from the fact they are ugly they are dangerous too.

"The health implications are not clear. It is also a conservation area. The fact is it is probably going to spoil one of the best views over London you can get.

"You can't build there but you can stick these false masts pumping out radio signals. I don't think anyone has thought about this."

Haringey Council rejected the application earlier this year for the replica telegraph pole that would accommodate the mast, ruling it would negatively affect the conservation area. Residents argued it would block part of the pavement and produce emissions that may contaminate reservoir drinking water.

In a letter to the planning inspectorate, Robin Derham, an architect, who lives next door to Mr Morrissey and is co-ordinator of the Mount View and Womersley Roads Neighbourhood Group, says: "In making their decisions, the inspectors might like to ask themselves whether they themselves would choose to buy a house with an immediate foreground view of the H3G 'telegraph pole' and all its associated gear and have it beaming radiation through their windows directly at them and their families by day and night for the rest of their lives."

The community is backed by Hornsey and Wood Green MP Lynne Featherstone. She said: "While the scientific community is still arguing about it we can't risk the well-being of young children."

Anyone with written representations about the mast should send three copies to The Planning Inspectorate at 3/14 Eagle Wing, Temple Quay House, 2 The Square, Temple Quay, Bristol BS1 6PN by tomorrow (Friday, November 24). A decision is then due in six to eight weeks.

Copyright © 2006 Archant Regional. All rights reserved.

http://tinyurl.com/wrt3d

Nov 23 2006

By Adrian Short,
Widnes Weekly News

RESIDENTS fear erecting a mobile phone mast near their homes will blight a recreational area and put youngsters' health at risk.

Vodafone has informed Halton Council of its intention to construct a 12.5-metre mast on the edge of Birchfield Gardens at the junction of Lunts Heath Road and Birchfield Road, Widnes.

Mum Kathryn Rawlinson, of Elworth Road, who is leading an objection campaign alongside Cllr Carl Cross, gathered 65 names in two hours of door-knocking on Friday night.

She said: 'I know you can't objecton thehealthgroundsbut, personally, that's my main concern because I have three kids.

'The mast will be on open land in the middle of a beauty spot - the local children put up bird boxes there and do nature studies, there are ponds and ditches and wildlife.

'A lot of mums and tots go down there for a walk and, having done research on the internet, some experts reckon masts can cause leukaemia and can affect pacemakers.

'The mast will be five minutes walk away from a nearby school.

'I couldn't sleep at night knowing this mast was there and I certainly wouldn't buy a house near one. It will cause massive house devaluation.

'I expect at least 200 names on the petition and would appeal to everybody to write individually to the council.'

A council spokesman said: 'The council will assess the proposal against both national guidance and local policy - which seeks to ensure that the proposal represents the best environmental option - before reaching a decision.

'Three telecommunication applications have been rejected in the past in the north Widnes area.'

adrian.short @cheshirenews.co.uk

© owned by or licensed to Trinity Mirror North West & North Wales Limited 2006

http://tinyurl.com/vsgtw

nlnews @archant.co.uk

23 November 2006

HARINGEY is covered in nearly 70 mobile phone mast and antenna sites, several of them in public buildings including schools, a hospital and a church spire.

The locations of the phone masts, which many people feel could be a public health risk because of radiation levels, have been revealed in information released to the Journal under the Freedom of Information Act.

There have been masts granted on at least 67 sites across the borough since 1991 - 15 in Tottenham, 14 in Wood Green, 10 in Muswell Hill, eight in South Tottenham, six in Hornsey, five in Highgate, three in both Crouch End and East Finchley, two in Bounds Green and one in Stroud Green.

Sarah Purdy, who lives close to Fortismere School, Muswell Hill, has been involved in numerous protests against mobile phone masts.

She said: "I think we have too many masts in residential areas and near our schools and nurseries, contrary to the recommendations of the Department of Education.

"If people don't want masts near their houses they should think about not making calls on their mobiles from home. Each mast can only take about 100 calls at once, and if a mast has to drop calls then the phone company will want to put up another one to cope with demand."

The most recent site is the spire of the Church of All Hallows, Church Lane, Tottenham.

It was also revealed at a meeting this month that there had been one in Hornsey Town Hall's tower, in Crouch End, since 2002.

One of the earliest masts to be granted was placed on Haringey Council's own River Park House, opposite Wood Green Tube, in 1991.

Tottenham Hotspur football ground has a mast, as does St Ann's Hospital in South Tottenham, Coppetts Wood Hospital in Muswell Hill, Fortismere and Alexandra Park secondary schools, Alexandra Palace and Hornsey Fire Station, Priory Road, Hornsey.

Several masts also sit on council housing blocks.


PHONE MAST SITES AND YEAR OF INSTALLATION

1991

Northholt Tower, Lordship Lane, Wood Green
River Park House, High Road, Wood Green

1992

Eckington House, Pulford Road, South Tottenham
Barclays Bank, Highgate High Street, Highgate

1995

Alexander House, Hillcrest Estate, North Hill, Highgate
Car park, rear of Green Man pub, Muswell Hill, Muswell Hill
Fortismere secondary school, Tetherdown, Muswell Hill

1996

270 Langham Road, South Tottenham
Chettle Court, Ridge Road, Crouch End
New River Sports Centre, White Hart Lane, Wood Green

1997

312 High Road, South Tottenham
530 White Hart Lane, Tottenham
28 Lawrence Road, South Tottenham
YMCA, Tottenham Lane, Crouch End
BT Telephone Exchange, Reform Row, Tottenham
Dylan Thomas House, Denmark Road, Hornsey
Car park, Shopping City, High Road, Wood Green
Kenley House, Broadwater Farm Estate, Lordship Lane, Tottenham
Stella House, High Road, Tottenham
George Lansbury House, Progress Way, Wood Green

1998

St Ann's Hospital, St Ann's Road, South Tottenham
Cordell House, Newton Road, South Tottenham
Elizabeth Blackwell House, Progress Way, Wood Green
Millicent Fawcett Court, Pembury Road, Tottenham
Edgecot Grove, South Tottenham
Eleanor Rathbone House, Avenue Road, Highgate

1999

Telephone Exchange, Grand Avenue, Muswell Hill
14-28 Fortis Green Road, Muswell Hill
48-50 Muswell Road, Muswell Hill
Alexandra Palace, Alexandra Palace Way, Wood Green
Middlesex University, Bounds Green Road, Bounds Green
Thomas Hardy House, Commerce Road, Wood Green
Page High Estate, Lymington Avenue, Wood Green
Imperial House, Willoughby Lane, Tottenham

2000

50 Clarendon Road, Hornsey
Sainsbury's Flats, Fortis Green Road, Muswell Hill
Southwood Park, Southwood Lawn Road, Highgate
Hornsey Train Servicing Centre, Hampden Road, Hornsey
British Gas Compound, Garman Road, Tottenham
Cordell House, Newton Road, south Tottenham
Outside The Chestnuts, Cherry Tree Hill, Great North Road, East Finchley
Lordship Lane, near junction with Walpole Road, Wood Green
Wilmott Dixon Building, Hampden Road, Hornsey

2001

Haringey Borough FC, White Hart Lane, Tottenham
Hornsey Fire Station, Priory Road, Hornsey
Tottenham Hotspur FC, High Road, Tottenham
Middlesex University, White Hart Lane, Tottenham
Barrington Court, Colney Hatch Lane, Muswell Hill
41 West Road, Tottenham

2002

Charles Clore House, Fortis Green, Muswell Hill
BHS, High Road, Wood Green
Junction of Bounds Green Road and Whittington Road, Wood Green
Outside Doran Manor, Great North Road, East Finchley
Hornsey Town Hall, The Broadway, Crouch End
Coppetts Wood Hospital, Coppetts Road, Muswell Hill

2003

Junction of Lordship Lane and Granville Road, Wood Green

2004

Site opposite Downhills Park, Downhills Park Road, Tottenham
Outside 1 Williamson Road, Stroud Green
Junction of Seven Sisters Road and St Ann's Road, South Tottenham
Outside The Coliseum, Green Lanes, Hornsey
Highcroft, North Hill, Highgate

2005

Railway land behind Park Motors, Ringway, Bounds Green

2006

Barber Wilsons & Co, Crawley Road, Wood Green
61 Markfield Road, South Tottenham
Telecommunications station outside 64 Aylmer Road, East Finchley
All Hallows Church, Church Lane, Tottenham
Date unavailable
Alexandra Park Secondary School

Copyright © 2006 Archant Regional. All rights reserved.

http://tinyurl.com/ybb2pm

By Marcus Dysch

Police moved angry campaigners who tried to block a road to stop a mobile phone mast being built near a Barnet road.

Residents tried to blockade the area, in Stanhope Road Open Space, Chesterfield Road, to stop telephone company O2 erecting the six-metre high mast on Friday.

Last month, workmen were first forced to leave the site after people came out of their homes and blocked access to the street.

Following that incident, Barnet Council held a meeting with O2 in an attempt to stop the company using Chesterfield Road, but planning permission was granted by default after the authority missed a deadline to respond to the company's application by one day.

On Friday, residents again blocked workers' way and police moved the protestors after a Barnet Council representative confirmed the company did have permission to carry out the work. No arrests were made.

Protestor Debra Barker said: "We should have been notified and given a letter. The council did not act on our behalf and has let us down.

"We will not obstruct it again physically, but we will go down the legal route.

"We will make a claim against the council and O2 to get the mast taken down, or compensation."

A council spokesman said alternate sites for the mast had been discussed but no agreement had been reached.

He said: "We are extremely disappointed that O2 has returned to Chesterfield Road.

"The company is aware of our opposition as well as the considerable public concern in the area. Alternatives included a site only 700 metres from Chesterfield Road where the same company already has valid permission. Another mast is in place at Partridge Close, off Mays Lane, which is even closer to the Chesterfield Road site."

James Stevenson, O2 community relation officer, said: "We put up fences around the site on Friday and laid some concrete.

"The planner from the council came along and told the police we did have planning permission.

"I met with council officers and they told me of the alternative sites.

"When I met them the second time they did not come up with any alternatives. If they had we would have looked at them."

Mr Stevenson confirmed the mast would be erected within the next week to 10 days.

© Copyright 2001-2006 Newsquest Media Group

http://www.barnettimes.co.uk/news/localnews/display.var.1036205.0.phone_mast_protestors_block_road.php

By Anna Youssef

ANGRY residents say Bolton Council has set a dangerous precedent by backing down in a legal battle over a phone mast.

The mast was put up last year by the telecommunications firm Hutchinson 3G at Holland's Nurseries, in Darwen Road, Bromley Cross, despite the council turning down a planning application.

Hutchinson 3G appealed and won its case.

The council then tried to enforce a historic covenant that stated nothing should be built on the land and it should only be used for agricultural purposes.

But a public inquiry in June ruled against the council.

Now, it has decided to allow the mast to remain rather than risk further legal action.

Campaigners, who have mounted a long running campaign against the mast, yesterday hit out at the council's decision.

Olive Kenyon, of Laburnum Park, Bradshaw, said: "It seems to me that in this particular instance the law does not equate to justice.

"H3G has bypassed local government planning regulations at every stage.

"I think this decision sets a very worrying precedent.

"If the mobile phone companies think they can get away with it once they're going to do it again and again.

"I think the planning process is flawed.

"These companies have deep pockets and the council only has limited resources."

Councillor Cliff Morris, the council leader, said he felt the council had taken a reasonable approach.

Applying for a judicial review of the matter would have put the covenant at risk, he believed.

Cllr Morris said: "We have virtually exhausted the legal and planning process, but by not pursuing the review we have preserved the covenant.

"We do not think the development is appropriate and we have been consistent in our arguments against it.

"But it is not going to have a major impact on the area and sits in a fairly small plot within the nurseries.

"The planning inspector made these points in the planning inquiry report.

"It has been a difficult decision, but we were left with only two options; a judicial review, which was not guaranteed to come down in our favour, or not take out a challenge against the Secretary of State's decision.

"By taking the decision we have, the covenant remains intact."

© Copyright 2001-2006 Newsquest Media Group

http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/display.var.1034668.0.council_admits_defeat_in_phone_mast_standoff.php

By Pat Smith

THE villagers of Wythall have lost their fight against T-Mobile's plans to erect a 12m high phone mast in their midst.

The plans for the mast at Trueman's Heath Lane were given the go-ahead by Bromsgrove District Council in October but due to village opposition, the firm agreed to look at alternative sites.

But now T-Mobile has announced it is going ahead with its plans after all.

Spokesman John Shaunnassy said: "We have looked at alternatives but the plans we have permission for were the best in the light of the coverage we wanted, therefore we will be going ahead."

He could not confirm precisely when the metal pole would be erected but said it would look like a regular telegraph pole.

"It will sit as naturally as possible in its surroundings.

"We do not set out to upset villagers but people are using more mobile phones and they need an efficient network to use them," added Mr Shaunnassy.

Bromsgrove MP Julie Kirkbride said: "I have implored T-Mobile to site the mast elsewhere and am sorry they are not responsive to local views.

"Sadly, however, national planning law allows them to put mobile phones masts wherever they want."

Worcestershire county councillor for the area, Wally Stewart, said: "I am disgusted.

"Knowing the extent of public opposition, I would have hoped common decency would have led them to reconsider the siting.

"There is nobody in the village that wants the mast in Trueman's Heath Lane."

9:50am today

© Copyright 2001-2006 Newsquest Media Group

http://www.redditchadvertiser.co.uk/news/ranewslatest/display.var.1034180.0.village_loses_mast_battle.php

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/

The residents in Yokneam received a quick course on how to remove the antenna near their houses. The leader of the Haifa's Neve Shanan fight against antennas was invited to guide them. Very quickly they understood from him that all the authorities are a waste of time, and started working: they attacked the person who put the antenna on his roof, they blocked his way to go to work- he couldn't go to work. They drew Grafiti on the wall that protects his vila, and they sang songs loudly near his window - all night. When he went to the synagogue they hit him, and warned him - either he removes the antenna or he is out of the neighbourhood. In the evening he threw a grenade on them from his house. The police and ambulance came to the place and people were evacuated to the hospital, including the vila owner because he was injured from the hits by the neighbours. The end: he removed the antenna. Because he didn't like his new life style. The story was sent to me by the person who guided Yokneam residents, Dar Nahum from Haifa.

Things are getting even more crazy now, when is was reported in the newspapers two days ago that the 3 israeli companies are going to invest 10 million shekels in builiding a visitor center which is part of the campaign of explaining to the public that - the more antennas, the less radiation. AND today it is published that the companies cooperate with the ministry of environment and the ministry of education in a new campaign: "antenna on every school" - to put antenna on/ near every school, in the attempt to recude radiation (who buys that?!) from the mobile phones of the children. This is TOTALLY CRAZY. This is also part of the campaign of the ministry of environment to bring closer the antennas to children, as the Env. minister promised recently. There is no doubt that things are going lunatic. With Iran threats in the background it is a recipe for disaster.

Iris Atzmon

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Health fears lead schools to dismantle wireless networks
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/2957963/

OPPONENTS of a mobile phone mast were celebrating today after the city council threw out the controversial application.

When mobile giant O2 submitted plans for a 12.5m tower in Stanground, Peterborough, it was met by a furious response from residents.

They presented a 300-name petition to the council and put pen to paper to write dozens of letters.

Now council planners have turned down O2's plans to build the mast near Havelock Farm, off Whittlesey Road – even though local authorities are encouraged to grant permission for masts smaller than 15m.

Councils tend to approve such plans in case the authority incurs costs if the mobile phone company wins an appeal.

Houghton Avenue resident Phil Gaunt, who lives 50m from the proposed site, said it was a victory for people power.

He said: "We believe it was refused because, as a community, we pulled together, wrote letters and collected a petition.

"It showed the council that we did not want the mast here, and it has sat up and taken note. We made such a fuss that it had no choice."

The application was turned down on the grounds that it would create an eyesore.

After turning down the proposal, the council sent a letter to the petitioners, which read: "The telecommunication column, due to its siting, height and relationship with the surrounding area, would result in an unacceptable visual impact, which is not in keeping with the character or appearance of the area."

But Mr Gaunt believes that residents would not have won their battle if it had not been for a website set up by people living in Park Farm, Stanground.

Mr Gaunt advertises the website by a yellow banner across his house.

He said: "The website is a way of telling people what is going on in the community, and the banner advertises the website.

"I believe that if it were not for the website, we would not have had the same response to the mast, meaning it might not have been turned down."

However, the council is insisting that Mr Gaunt take the banner down.

A council spokesman said an application for the banner was rejected on November 15 on the grounds that it was damaging to the "visual amenity and highway safety" of the area.

He added that Mr Gaunt had a right of appeal to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.

Last month The ET revealed that 255 mobile phone mast sites had been earmarked across the city since 1992.

More have sprung up in recent years after mobile phone ownership in the UK rose to 65 million.

21 November 2006

All rights reserved © 2006 Johnston Press Digital Publishing.

http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=845&ArticleID=1888592

21.11.06

Controversial plans to install mini mobile phone masts in homes and offices in return for cheap phone calls were unveiled by O2 today.

The phone network hopes to use the masts, called picocells, to allow customers to make calls over the internet using their mobile phone.

Mobile calls made within range of the customer's mast will be converted into internet calls and sent via a broadband connection, allowing a saving on mobile bills.

"We can put the (mobile phone mast) radio into the home or office," said Dave Williams, chief technology officer for Telefonica-O2 Europe. Critics say the plans will simply add to the health risk surrounding mobile phone masts.

However, an O2 spokesman said: "The picocell will work at a lower power than normal base stations.

"There is no scientific evidence linking mobile phones with health problems and we will continue to fund independent research into this area."

The Health Protection Agency has previously advised that the radiation exposure from picocells was safe but advised caution on the question of all mobile phone masts.

It also called for more research into the area.

The agency's report said exposures in proximity to picocells have been found to be well within safe levels for the public.

However, it also called for tough new rules to be brought in governing the mini-masts.

"There is a need for clarity in terms of legal responsibilities and regulations in relation to the installation of microcells and picocells and the availability of information about their deployment," it said.

But Karen Barrett of the campaign group Mast Sanity said: "People should not buy these picocells.

"Even if on their own they do not pose a problem, having one in every living room and office means all the radiation adds up.

"People already have wi-fi connections in their homes - this is just making the problems worse."

O2 has already revealed a prototype picocell box that combines a domestic broadband internet router and a GSM mobile phone base station which O2 said could cost less than £70 when it goes on sale next year.

O2 is looking for customers to take part in trials.

Rival firms require customers to buy a separate internet phone which uses wi-fi signals to communicate with their wireless broadband network.

Experts say the fact the system does not require customers to buy a new phone could see it succeed.

"Users feel comfortable using their existing mobile phones, so using those could be the sweet, simple solution right under our noses without any of the complexity of having a wireless network," said Richard Webb, an analyst at Infonetics Research.

© 2006 Associated Newspapers Ltd

http://tinyurl.com/yhfwta

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Health fears over plans for phone masts in your home

The article in last night's evening standard contains a quote from an unnamed O2 spokesman:

"There is no scientific evidence linking mobile phones with health problems and we will continue to fund independent research into this area."

This is plainly inaccurate, and grossly misleading. He might have said there's no 'credible' evidence (which would then be his opinion). But to say there's no evidence is provably false.*

Does anyone know if there's any legal implication of publishing a misleading statement such as this? Is it worth trying to get a retraction or a correction - i.e. get them to admit there is evidence, even if they don't believe it?

Ben



Also in Daily Mail where you can comment. They appear not to have added my rant!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=417764&in_page_id=1770

John Elliott



You might be interested in this potential new threat.

I think they mean us when they say "Campaigners Against Stuff"

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/11/22/o2_picocell_trial/

"O2 trial could see a picocell in every home Evening Standard:O2 wants to microwave our kids

O2 is to trial picocell technology which, in theory, could see every Be customer doubling up as a VoIP access point from the comfort of their own home.

The concept is pretty simple: a tiny cell site is placed in the customer’s home, similar in size to a Wi-Fi access point, which allows nearby GSM handsets to connect and then routes their phone calls over the broadband connection. Some form of restitution for the customer would be provided, perhaps a cut of call cost or credit on their account, but the details are a long way from being settled.

The model has been proposed from time to time using Wi-Fi for the wireless connection, but enabling normal GSM handsets to use the connections will make a lot more sense and O2 reckon they can get the hardware costs down to below 70 quid.

Picocells are tiny GSM transceivers which are normally used to provide coverage in buildings such as shopping centres, and other blank spots in the network. They operate on very low power; to reduce interference with the main transmitter network.

What has send the Evening Standard into it’s tizzy is the old chestnut of the health implications: the fact that it isn’t possible to prove that mobile phones don’t give you cancer obviously means that they do, and while our bodies are awash with radio signals the thought of adding any more – and in our own homes - has brought out the traditional Campaigners Against Stuff with their warnings of dire trouble ahead.

Quite how O2 will guarantee quality of service, share the revenue or ensure seamless cell handover from VoIP to circuit-switched connections all remain to be resolved: which is what the trials are for."


Best,

Martin
GRAM


From Mast Sanity/Mast Network

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http://www.buergerwelle.de/body_science.html



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