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Call drops on rise, vanishing cell towers to blame [DNA : Daily News & Analysis (India)](DNA : Daily News & Analysis (India) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) With telecom operators finding it increasingly difficult to install new cell towers in the wake of a scare that they emit carcinogenic radiation, the dwindling number of towers has created ten black holes across the city, where maximum call drops happen due to no network. HC's stay on tower restrictions Last week, the Bombay high court had passed a stay order prohibiting the state government from taking any coercive action against cell phone towers atop schools, colleges and hospitals. The court had also directed the state government and municipal authorities across the state to accept applications to set up new towers under the guidelines of the central department of telecommunications. Operators' plight With little over 7,000 mobile towers in the city on one hand, and an increase of at least 10 per cent in the subscription of new connections each year on the other, there seems to be no solution in sight. While telecom operators are struggling to ensure better connectivity, activists are determined to fight tooth and nail against the installation of new cell towers. Members of the Tower And Infrastructure Providers Association (TAIPA) and the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) maintain that radiation levels of cell phone towers are well below prescribed limits. "The city is facing an acute an shortage of towers. It is land-locked and there is no scope for us to install towers out of the city and facilitate a working network. There is no zoning as regards to commercial and residential. How are we supposed to function?" argued a spokesperson of COAI. What about wireless services? "In fact, there are ten other segments like the police department using wireless services, like the naval docks, television towers, defence, BARC, nuclear plants, the airport and airlines and so on, which also creates high electromagnetic fields (EMF), which are much higher than mobile towers. Why don't activist protest against them. They are trying arm-twisting tactics with us," said the COAI spokesperson. Activists stay firm "We have met BJP leaders and are trying to communicate our grievances to them. There is no use of regulations if they are stayed by the high court. The central government must come up with stricter and more comprehensive guidelines which has no scope of challenge," said Prakash Munshi, an activist working against cell phone towers atop buildings. BMC's take on mobile tower policy Under the BMC policy, seven out of every ten residents of a cooperative society must agree whenever the erection of a new tower on top of a building is approved or an older one is regularized. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had issued a policy on 1 August last year which specifies that state governments and municipal bodies should obtain a no objection certificate (NOC) from housing societies each time permission is renewed for a tower at a site, thus endorsing regular monitoring. According to a survey conducted by the BMC, over 3,000 out of 4,776 towers in the city are illegal. Malabar Hill has 333 unauthorised installations, while Bandra has 300. The new policy doesn't require cell tower companies to obtain an NOC from the residents of the building every year, a one-time clearance will do. This is a welcome change. However, the policy does not take into account the heightened awareness from citizens as time passes and the growing body of evidence about the hazards of such towers. Credit:Geeta Desai (c) 2014 @ 2014 DILIGENT MEDIA CORPORATION LTD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED |