In the UK the main mobile phone operators, represented by the Mobile Operators Association, have committed to a Best Practice statement in respect of the planning and development of base stations. The aim of the Ten Commitments is to create the required level of transparency, public involvement and information with the process of building mobile phone base stations.
The high level of standardization of the planning and development process might seem like a burden to developers but the aim is to create a process which eliminates potential setbacks further down the line in the progress of site development, like local opposition, planning refusals etc.
A range of tools and standardization has been developed which supports the Ten Commitments. For example the Traffic Light Model determines the level of public consultation and the compliance with ICNIRP has been standardized to include standardized forms for ease of reference.
Below is a brief outline of the Ten Commitments
1. Improved Consultation with Communities
Develop, with other stakeholders, clear standards and procedures to deliver significantly improved consultation with local communities. The Traffic Light Model is used by the acquisition agent to determine the level of public consultation.
2. Detailed Consultations with Planners
The operators participate in obligatory pre-rollout and pre-application consultation with local planning authorities.
3. Site Sharing
Publish clear, transparent and accountable criteria and cross-industry agreement on site sharing, against which progress will be published regularly.
4. Workshops for Councils
Establish professional development workshops on technological developments within telecommunications for local authority officers and elected members.
5. Database of Base Station Sites
Deliver, with the Government, a database of information available to the public on radio base stations.
6. Compliance with ICNIRP Public Exposure Level Guidance
Assess all radio base stations for international (ICNIRP) compliance for public exposure, and produce a programme for ICNIRP compliance for all radio base stations as recommended by the Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones (IEGMP).
7. ICNIRP Certification
Provide, as part of planning applications for radio base stations, a certification of compliance with ICNIRP public exposure guidelines.
8. Prompt Responses to Enquiries
Provide specific staff resources to respond to complaints and enquiries about radio base stations, within ten working days.
9. Support Research into Health and Mobile Phones
Begin financially supporting the Government’s independent scientific research programme on mobile communications health issues.
10. Standard Documentation for Planning Submissions
Develop standard supporting documentation for all planning submissions whether for full planning or prior approval.
While operators in Ireland are not obliged to sign up to the Ten Commitments, it being a UK standards only, they do in fact act in accordance with the commitments. For example Comreg Policy No 03/28R, essentially a signed commitment to site sharing, signed off by all operators in 2003 set out a code of practice for site sharing to which O2, Vodafone, Meteor and H3G are committed. Another common set of standards but within a planning context is the DOELG Guidelines 1996.
The difficulty is that all these strands are not pulled together under an umbrella document or standard, and for this reason we believe it is in the operators and the public interest to adopt a modified version of the Ten Commitments in Ireland.
In the UK the Mobile Operators Association (MOA) represents the five UK mobile network operators – 3, O2, Orange, T-Mobile and Vodafone – on radio frequency health and safety and associated town planning issues. This association presents single focal point for the public whereby industry issues are addressed, where the public can inspect shared industry standards. Deloitte and Touche regularly audit the UK mobile companies for compliance with the Ten Commitments.
IBEC’s telecoms industry division the ICIA (Irish Cellular Indistry Association) of the TIF (Telecoms and Internet Federation) are well positioned to provide a single focal point for the operators in the Irish jurisdiction. By increasing its website profile and by implementing a single umbrella standard such as the Ten Commitments to Ireland the operators will benefit from the increased transparency that this unified approach would bring.
