Industry co-operation

We participate in and co-fund several industry groups.

These include the Mobile Operators Association (MOA) in the UK, the Informationszentrum Mobilfunk e.V. (IZMF) and BITKOM (Bundesverband Informationswirtschaft Telekommunikation und neue Medien e.V.) in Germany, the GSM Europe (GSME) and the worldwide GSM Association.

O2 takes a prominent role by chairing the GSME Health and Environment Working Group, the UK MOA’s Compliance Working Group and the Board of IZMF.  During the year, the GSM Association founded a health policy sub-group, of which O2 is also a member. O2 Ireland chaired the Irish Cellular Association during 2005.

Our performance in meeting joint-operator voluntary codes of best practice in responsible mast siting in Germany and the UK is periodically reviewed independently. The German Institute for Urban Affairs and the consumer protection association of North-Rhine Westfalia (Verbraucherzentrale Nordrhein-Westfalen) conducted a review for the fourth time in 2005. Deloitte & Touche, on behalf of the MOA, reviewed our adherence to the Ten Commitments in the UK.

In 2005/06, the University of Reading and Arup, on behalf of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister – the government department which was responsible for telecommunications planning in England during the year – conducted a review of the Code of Best Practice on Mobile Phone Network Development. The code is also referred to as the Ten Commitments. 

The review’s key conclusions were that where telecommunication operators and their agents complied with the Code, it was considered to be working well, but that local planning authority compliance and involvement in planning for mobile network development varied considerably.

The researchers also found that some communities felt the code did not give them enough assurance that operators were taking their comments and concerns seriously. Researchers recommended a revision of the code to further improve many positive aspects.

The Code of Best Practice can be found at: http://www.odpm.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1144926

The report can be found at: http://www.odpm.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1163923

The annual expert report from the German Institute on Urban Affairs confirmed in 2005 that German operators fulfill their voluntary commitments. It found that consultation processes are in general trouble-free, but noted that improvements could sometimes be achieved if operators and local authorities made more effort to keep communicating with each other.

In Ireland, the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources established a government expert group to advise on EMF health research. This will inform an inter-departmental committee on the status of relevant research in Ireland. The group includes representatives from the World Health Organization (WHO), the Dutch Health Council and the Irish Government.

In January, O2 Ireland made a submission to the group regarding health research and planning matters that we would like to see addressed. We expect the Group will report back to the Irish Government during 2006.