A short summary of major developments in the news during the past month on science and policy issues related to mobile communications health and environmental issues.
Australia: New distance ruler feature on public network deployment data base
AMTA have introduced a new tool to assist community access to mobile network information, including the location of Australia’s nearly 14,000 base stations and reports on radio frequency electromagnetic energy levels at sites.
Canada: Wireless firms must consult with Canadians on cell towers
Industry Minister James Moore has announced that telecommunications companies will be required to consult with communities when it comes to building new cellphone towers, regardless of their size. This addressed the loophole under current federal regulations, where cellphone companies are not required to notify municipalities if towers being built are under 15 meters high.
Europe: Thousands being interviewed in mobile phone brain cancer study
Thousands of young people are being interviewed as the European Union backs MOBI-KIDS, the largest study in the world into the links between mobile phone use and brain cancer in children.
Germany: Telekom sets group-wide climate protection target
The Deutsche Telekom Board of Management has decided on an ambitious climate protection target. CO2 emissions are to be reduced by 20 percent across the Group by the year 2020. The climate protection goal is the result of a global project, in which a total of almost 40 Group units in 29 countries.
India: Radiation from cell towers in India not harmful
There is no cause of alarm with regard to possible ill-effects on human health by electromagnetic field radiation from mobile phone towers and mobile phones because the limits adopted in India account for all biological effects of radiation. In fact, the limits set by India are much lower than the internationally adopted recommendations of the International Commission on Non Ionising Radiation Protection, which account for thermal and non-thermal effects, said a report submitted by a 13-member committee constituted by the Department of Telecommunications based on an Allahabad High Court order dated January 10, 2012.
Kenya: Safaricom ventures into e-waste management
Growing levels of electronic waste in Kenya has prompted the country’s biggest mobile operator Safaricom to kick-start an e-waste programme. The East African nation has witnessed surging levels of electronic gadget adoption, as the country’s mobile usage rate has topped 31.3 million connections while the number of internet users stands at 19.1 million, according to the Communications Commission of Kenya . And Safaricom plans to help Kenyans safely dispose of over 20,000 tonnes of e-waste in the country by setting aside collection points at its retail centres across the country.
USA: House committee passes bill banning in-flight phone calls
A U.S. House of Representatives committee has passed legislation that would prohibit mobile phone users from making voice calls during airline flights, despite a U.S. Federal Communications Commission move to allow in-flight calls. However the bill would allow mobile device users to surf the Internet and send text messages.
USA: ‘Smart grid’ gets clean bill of health; opponents attack report
A report prepared by the city’s Division of Public Health that found no conclusive evidence of public health dangers associated with National Grid’s “smart grid” pilot program has come under fire from opponents of the program.
USA: Bill would require cell phones to have warning labels
Senate Bill 2571, were it to become law, would require all cell phones sold or leased by a retailer in Hawaii to “bear a label that warns consumers of the potential dangers of electromagnetic radiation.” As the bill states, the Legislature finds “that there is increased concern about the long term effect of electromagnetic radiation exposure on children and pregnant women.”
Zambia: Green electricity to power Zambia’s off grid cell towers
Zambian rural areas as well as mobile phone base stations not connected to the national grid are set to get a solar power boost from Schneider Electric.