More phones - but mobile mast invasion seriously overestimated

There are currently around 45,000 base station sites, including masts, in the UK. The operators estimate that this will rise to around 50,000 at the end of 2007, which is when, under their third generation (3G) licences, they need to provide network coverage for 80% of the population.

This is an increase of 5,000 across the whole of the UK. People can find out where their nearest base station site is by looking at the Sitefinder database on the Ofcom website - www.sitefinder.radio.gov.uk.

Operators build base stations because the users of the 60 million mobile phones in the UK, including those in the Wirral, are using their phones more and more.

The public has adopted this twenty-year-old technology wholeheartedly.

If we want to benefit from mobile technology, then we must accept the need for the networks, which enable mobile phones to operate.

It is not correct to suggest that there is a presumption in favour of mobile telecoms development in the planning system.

Councils can and do refuse masts on normal planning grounds. In addition, health concerns are already a material planning consideration.

However, if a proposed base station is compliant with international health and safety guidelines for public exposure to radio frequency emissions, then it is the Government's firm view that there is no need for a planning authority to consider further the issue of health concerns.

This ensures that all new developments comply with the guidelines endorsed by the World Health Organisation, and also ensures that standards are consistent across the UK.

Compliance with this international standard has been independently audited by Ofcom over the past four years.

The measurements from these audits show that radio wave emissions from base stations are typically small fractions of the international health and safety exposure guidelines.

Stuart Eke,

Public Affairs Manager,

Mobile Operators Association,

Russell Square,

London.