Points Of Presence

By Laura Guevin
Editorial Director, BiometriTech

It's amazing how becoming a homeowner forces you to think about issues you normally wouldn't have paid much attention to. Things like changes in the tax code, town services that your hard-earned money is supporting, and planning and development activity in your area. Since purchasing my home eight months ago, I have learned some important things about my new town and neighborhood, and have made it a point to keep up on local issues affecting the school system (since I hope to have children some day) and land usage.

Before moving here, I hadn't thought much about cell phones and the infrastructure that enables them, which largely consists of cell towers. I owned a cell phone for about a year, which I actually bought for house hunting/buying, and it was very useful for taking the slew of aggravating calls from realtors, lawyers, inspectors, and mortgage companies that went along with this process. But when I actually moved into my new house, I realized that I had extremely spotty service at home with my existing wireless provider. Sure, other providers service my area and I could certainly have purchased a new phone with a different provider, but it really wasn't worth it to me to do this, since I used the phone so rarely. So, I cancelled my service and sold the phone on eBay. I've thought about getting a cheap phone with prepaid minutes in case of an emergency, but I just haven't gotten around to it.

And that was the last I thought about cell phones and wireless service areas until about a month ago, when I saw a proposal for a new cell tower on the front page of my local newspaper. The proposed site for the tower happens to be within two miles of my house, so this was definitely of interest to me. I learned that the site was a wooded area off the main road that leads to my neighborhood. The tower wouldn't be visible from my house, or from very many other homes for that matter. I'm not sure of the precise location, but it probably wouldn't be visible from the road either. I learned from that newspaper article, and subsequent coverage of the proposal, that a tower already exists within five miles of my home that I wasn't even aware of. The new tower would allow additional carriers (like my former wireless provider, Sprint PCS) to provide service in the area, and would offer better coverage for some spotty areas in my town and several surrounding towns.

I've had sort of a mixed reaction to the proposal. First of all, I wasn't even aware that the existing tower was there (although, logically, all of my friends who get cell service at my house must be pulling in the signal from somewhere nearby). And now a development company is trying to put up another tower, even closer to my home. I'm not sure if my reaction will even matter in the long run, but I know my community is concerned about a number of ramifications stemming from the tower proposal, including health risks, property values, and plain old aesthetics.

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 states that local communities may regulate, but not prohibit cell towers, so the reaction of myself and my neighbors won't carry much weight. But we will have the opportunity to make public statements about the tower, and those statements could help in the regulating of the 150-ft. structure, should it see the light of day. In fact, I don't want to underestimate the power of public opinion in this matter, as town residents participated in emotional hearings in 1997 when another tower was proposed across town. The hearings led to the development of 20 conditions, which were also invoked when the existing tower within five miles of my house was proposed in 2000. Apparently, one of the issues with the new proposed tower is that it may not provide sufficient coverage for the four towns it is designated to cover. The site just may not be the right one. Another issue, which could lead to abandonment of the proposal altogether, is that the tower could not be built unless at least one carrier comes on board and commits to offering service. No carriers have come forward as of yet.

The Connecticut Siting Council has the ultimate say over whether or not the tower will be built. The opinions of the various local commissions involved in the investigative process, as well as those of local residents, will play a role in that decision, so input does matter, at least a little.

QUESTIONS UNANSWERED
The limited research I have done on the health risks related to cell towers is pretty varied. There appears to be no official health risks, yet residents throughout the country have complained of a variety of short- and long-term health problems associated with cell towers near their homes and jobs. And the reports of neighborhood coalitions rallying against these towers at municipal meetings go on and on. Possible health hazards are my main concern with the tower, since I won't see it from my neighborhood, and I don't think it will negatively impact my property value. If anything, it could boost the value a bit since additional cell coverage is a positive enhancement to the area. I want to know if the tower could pose a health threat to me and my husband, as well as the children we hope to have some day.

I don't think these answers will be easy to come by. I haven't found any long-term studies on this issue, and cell phones have really only been widely used during the last ten years or so, it's likely that kind of research doesn't even exist. I will have to rely on the limited information I can unearth on this topic, as well as the opinions and advice of my neighbors and community, to determine if this tower will truly impact my quality of life. In the meantime, my town is offering a public hearing on the matter next month, and you can be sure I'll be there, at least to hear both sides of the argument.

Laura Guevin is the editorial director of BiometriTech (www.biometritech.com), an online magazine and newsletter covering biometric technologies and products. She welcomes your comments at lguevin@tmcnet.com.