It’s getting difficult to install new towers: Telecom companies

“There’s no clarity in the guidelines as to where the tower can be installed and where it can’t be. For instance,there’s a rule saying that the towers can’t be set up in schools,colleges and hospitals. However,there’s no guidelines whatsoever specifying the area immediately outside the campus where installation of the towers is prohibited. This leaves a lot of room for interpretation which is exploited by some of the private telecom companies. The companies then run into trouble with the authorities who monitor the telecom towers,” said an official working with the state-run BSNL.

An official with the Cellular

Operators Association of India (COAI) said that there are some new guidelines vis-a-vis frequency of

emission and exposure limits which

are being followed by most of the telecom operators.

“As per the recommendations of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on radiation,norms for exposure limit for the Radio Frequency Field (Base Station Emissions) has been reduced to 1/10th of the existing limits prescribed by ICNIRP. Also as per the existing policy for installation of towers the directives given by the Wireless Planning & Coordination (WPC) wing of DoT for each and every site are being followed,” the official said.

COAI official said that before installation of a tower,the telecom service providers obtain necessary clearances from concerned local authorities/state government bodies. Various local bodies and state governments have formulated their own policy regarding grant of such permissions.

However,the main issue currently faced by them,say the operators,is the fears which the property owners have developed about the ill effects of the radiations.

“It’s getting increasingly difficult to install a new telecom tower in the city as the property owners are reluctant to allow the companies for installation of a mobile tower. A lot is being said and circulated about the radiation hazards. The towers are also being blamed for the reduce in the number of birds in the city sky. We either don’t get permission from the residential societies to install the towers or they ask for unbelievably high rent. It’s also a big issue while renewing the rental contract with the owners after three years. They ask us to dismantle the tower as they don’t want it anymore,” an mobile company official said.