The Hindu Business Line : Protests growing against telecom towers

THE NIMBY (Not In My BackYard) movement is creeping into the country and threatens to write a bad chapter or two in the happy Indian telecommunications growth story.

Protest by local communities against telecommunication base stations as health hazards has become so strong in certain pockets of the world that it has forced roll back or hold back of network deployment of operators.

India is seeing the start of such a movement too. Earlier this week, Hutchison Max India's Orange service in Mumbai was forced to take down its cellular equipment from the rooftop of a cooperative housing society in the suburb of Kandivli.

What sparked off the protest was an internal dispute within the society on the terms of contract with the cellular company, agrees Mr Shekhar Hattangadi, one of the residents who was against the cellular tower. But certainly the health issue was important too, he said.

On the basis of this issue, the occupants of the flat immediately under the transmission tower managed to collect 90 signatures against the tower from the building residents, he said.

Mr Hattangadi himself uses a mobile phone, but says he feels that cellular companies should ensure maximum safety of all concerned.

An even larger dispute is now lying with the High Court at Mumbai. In September last year, a private litigation filed against Bharti Cellular by Abhilasha Cooperative Housing Society in South Mumbai was converted into a public interest litigation (PIL) that admitted all the city wireless operators as respondents. These companies include Hutch, BPL Mobile and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd. This case is still pending in court.

The last 12 months have also seen a court case filed against Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd seeking removal of one of its towers in Chandigarh, and another PIL filed by a resident of Kapurthala asking that cellular companies remove towers from residential areas and school premises.

Cellular companies claim that they are not too perturbed. "Right now there are other, more grave issues that India faces, these protests are very scattered", said a senior official with one of them.

But protests typically start in the more prosperous cities and localities, precisely in those places where the removal of even one tower could have the maximum negative impact in terms of connectivity, said an industry analyst.

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) quotes several reports to show that base stations are harmless to health. According to COAI, a World Health Organisation report of 2003 on risks from electromagnetic radiation says this: "Base stations are continuously transmitting signals, although the levels to which the public are exposed are extremely small, even if they live nearby." There are regulators and others worldwide working on base station sitting requirements too.

However, the protestors do not buy this. In Canada, Germany and Australia they have managed to prevent base stations of companies such as T-Mobile, Vodafone and Cable & Wireless from coming up in certain localities, especially near schools. "It is something like creating a panic," said an official with a cellular operator.

Also worldwide, several protestors who want base stations removed from their premises are cell phone users themselves.

Increasing protests could, if nothing else, increase the costs of base stations for cellular companies, delay rollouts and cause connectivity problems in certain pockets, say industry analysts.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Layoffs loom large for Surat diamond workers

Southwest monsoon to be late by a week — Rainfall may be `near normal'

Cabinet to consider mid-term appraisal of 10th Plan today

Protests growing against telecom towers

Simpler delisting norms for small cos in 6 months

Review of quarterly reporting ruled out

`No plans to ban participatory notes'