A pioneering new project by Liverpool City Council is ringing the changes - and it's set to eradicate the need for large mobile phone masts.
Proposals are being developed to install tiny, hi-tech mobile phone antennae throughout Liverpool. The 15cm structures will sit on existing street furniture, such as lamp posts, CCTV cameras and road signs.
The new antennae are far less unsightly than large mobile phone masts, and are environmentally friendly. Each mini-antenna, which has the capacity to be used by several mobile phone companies at the same time, emits between 1,000 and a million times less radiation than a mobile phone.
The council's Executive Member for Customer and Corporate Services, Councillor Dave Antrobus, said: "This is a groundbreaking solution to the increasing number of mobile phone masts in Liverpool. Unlike current masts, which are obtrusive and unsightly, these antennae are small, compact and discreet.
"Many people have concerns over the health and safety issues surrounding mobile phone masts, and this project will help tackle this, by providing more environmentally-friendly alternatives which emit a tiny fraction of the radiation of large masts.
"And with up to five mobile operators sharing a single antenna, we are hoping there will be a significant reduction in applications for individual phone masts. Ultimately, this hi-tech project could lead to many existing masts becoming redundant, and some being removed altogether. It's a great idea."
The number of mobile phone users in the UK has grown from five million in 1995, to 55 million by 2004. As a result, there has been a huge increase in demand for mobile phone masts.
The influx of new masts throughout the UK is often unpopular with residents. Members of the public regularly object to new masts being erected in their neighbourhood on possible health and safety grounds.
The new project would solve the problems involved in erecting large mobile phone masts in communities, offering a forward-thinking, environmentally-friendly alternative.
Chair of the council's planning committee, Councillor Lady Doreen Jones, said: "Applications for mobile phone masts cause more difficulty than most other types of planning applications. There are often objections from residents, but there are very limited grounds on which the council can judge these applications
"Government guidance means our decisions must be based purely on visual amenity and design, and not on grounds of possible health and safety implications, which means applications for new masts can cause great controversy in communities.
"Hopefully, this new project will provide us with a solution to these problems, and help reduce conflict with local residents."
The city council is working with BT on the 'microconnect distributed antennas' project.
The proposals will go before the city council's executive board for approval on Friday 22 July 2005.
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For further information, please contact Damian Richards-Clarke on 0151 225 2464 or 07736 216434
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