A Mobile UK boss has urged MPs and local councillors to stop blocking new phone masts, as it emerged that just two areas in north Norfolk were found to have ‘good’ connections
A Mobile UK boss has called upon MPs and members of the public alike to stop blocking phone masts, explaining that this was the biggest issue when it comes to phone coverage.
While attending a North Norfolk District Council meeting, Mobile UK’s director of policy and communications, Gareth Elliott, was quizzed by councillors as to why exactly the signal in certain parts of the region was so poor, with various blackspots. In response, Mr Elliot explained, “We’ve seen MPs who have objected to masts, I’ve seen councillors objecting to masts. That is a blocker in itself.”
Concerns over phone masts date back decades. In a 2000 report, the Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones (IEGMP) determined that, on the balance of evidence, there is no general risk to the health of those living near base stations, with exposures expected to be small fractions of guideline levels. Three years later, in a 2003 report, the independent Advisory Group on Non-ionising Radiation (AGNIR) concluded that exposure levels from living near base stations were extremely low.
Still, despite such reassurances, many people remain anxious about the thought of living near phone masts, and will take action to keep them far away from their own front garden.
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BBC News reports that, based on data compiled for the county council-run Streetwave project, just two areas in north Norfolk were found to have “good” connections. Mr Elliott declared that Mobile UK represented operators – EE, Virgin Media O2, and VodafoneThree – had made a commitment to providing 5G connections to “90 per cent of all populated areas by 2030”.
While raising problems with MPs and councillors objecting to masts being built within the district, Mr Elliott did also concede that rural areas were not always “economically viable” in terms of network infrastructure investment, as per the Eastern Daily Press. He said: “Planning applications have gone through due diligence to understand how it affects the existing network and radio physics. We don’t just build masts anywhere and everywhere.”
While there have been a number of new mast applications in recent years, not in north Norfolk and elsewhere, there has also been plenty of opposition. This was the case in the village of Erpingham, where many were keen to rectify the poor phone signal, only for former Conservative MP Duncan Baker, councillors and concerned locals to block this move.
Showing support for improving network coverage, Steffan Aquarone, Liberal Democrat MP for North Norfolk, asserted: “I was surprised to hear the comments made by Gareth Elliot, that MPs objecting to masts has become a blocker to better rural signal. I have never been in any opposition to any infrastructure that will improve mobile phone coverage in North Norfolk, and in fact, have rallied for the exact opposite.
“Although I’m keen that mobile operators use the latest technology to minimise visual impact, and take into account all aspects of health and safety, I have been actively campaigning to improve mobile signal since I was first elected in 2017 and will continue to fight for it until North Norfolk is better connected.”
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