Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Telcos call for unified rules on cell tower radiation

Telecom operators  said the Department of Telecommunication should be empowered to fix country-wide norms for cellphone tower radiation, rather than letting individual states frame rules on their own.
"Let's have our standards consistent across the country.Let's not adopt one in Maharashtra, or Karnataka. The industry will be in confusion with different rules in different states," COAI Director General Rajan S Mathews said.

"We are licenced by the DOT and let the DOT set up a commission that's competent and does the independent study.
Let it come out with revised guidelines.... We are happy to implement that," Mathews said on the sidelines of a workshop on 'Radiation from Mobile Towers. Myth vs Reality' here.
Allaying fears that cell towers emit radiation that is harmful to health, he said there are towers in most congested areas in Delhi, Mumbai and Pune and there is no evidence that these towers have any excess radiation levels that are health hazards.
The association has already given a copy of tests on radiation emission from cell towers in Delhi, which proves they are within the prescribed standards, Mathews said.
The association today organised a workshop on the issue to dispel myths about the health hazard allegedly posed by electromagnetic field (EMF) radiation.
Association of Unified Telecom Services Providers Secretary General S C Khanna said the radio frequency exposure of the public started many years ago, when radio and television came into being, but no long-term effects have been observed so far.
Mathews said the RF radiations emitted by mobile communication systems lie in the non-ionising part of the electromagnetic spectrum and these radiations do not have the energy to cause any generic damage.

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