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| The scientific consensus is that mobile communication masts and mobile phones do not pose a threat to human health. But studies often call for further independent research. |
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External view: "In general, for the past year the number of complaints against mmO2 fell in relation to previous years.
We find that the problems arise when the stakeholders for consultation are not properly identified and this needs to be clarified. We would also take issue with their interpretation of community consultation from Commitment 1. We find that in certain cases consultation frequently disintergrates into dictation by the operator, driven by economic rather than community need.
Correctly trained and fully accountable site acquisition agents would help to solve many of the problems encountered."
Julie Matthew and Christine Mangat, Mast Action UK
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Response from O2: In response to the findings of the external review of the implementation of the Ten Commitments in 2003, we have improved our procedures and controls over the level of local consultation required. We are committed to fund another external review of our performance in this field in 2004.
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The health and safety of our employees, customers and the public is very important to us and is included as one of our main risks in our consolidated risk register for the mmO2 Group. Our approach is to adhere to best-practice guidelines on mast-siting wherever we operate and to consult communities openly where it is appropriate and provide clear information about how our technology works.
We take care to ensure that the equipment we use and supply never exceeds international safety limits. Several independent international agencies have developed safety guidelines within which we operate. These include the UK's National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB), Germany's Strahlenschutzkommission (SSK), the International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) and the European Commission.
The scientific consensus is that mobile communication masts and mobile phones do not pose a threat to human health. But studies, such as the Stewart Report, often call for further independent research into areas of uncertainty and we are committed to help fund and support it. The industry has adopted a precautionary approach to the alleged health concerns of mobile communications.
Safety levels
Our communication masts and handsets operate within safety guidelines specified by ICNIRP. Mobile phone networks are designed so that the phone is, in most cases, operating at less than its maximum power. The closer a caller is to a base station, the lower the power levels in the phone.
The safety limit for mobile phones is called the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR), which measures the amount of radio frequency energy absorbed by the body during mobile phone use. All handsets sold by O2 conform to relevant SAR safety limits. Details of SAR levels for specific models of mobile phones are available from the Mobile Manufacturer's Forum's website on www.mmfai.org, as well as on the German websites www.izmf.de, www.o2online.de and www.de.o2.com.
Measurements by the UK's NRPB and Ofcom (formerly Radiocommunications Agency) and Germany's Regulation Office for Telecommunications and Post have confirmed that exposure levels from our base stations are always below safety limits, in most cases by many hundreds or even hundreds of thousands of times. Our masts are carefully cordoned off and clear safety signs are posted to warn members of the public not to get close to antennae. When maintenance work is carried out at any of our sites strict safety procedures should be followed in line with local regulation.
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| Safety levels | Research | Co-operation | Informed debate | Technology | Distraction driving |
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Research commitment
We do not carry out any research ourselves but continually monitor international studies and are co-operating with and helping to fund a number of initiatives. We only support studies that meet clear criteria: research must be subject to peer review, of good quality, expertly conducted, published in reputable journals and be independent of industry. We consult with the Department of Health and the Department of Trade and Industry in the UK, a range of world trade bodies, governments and health organisations to ensure that research addresses appropriate public health concerns.
The Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research (MTHR) programme, jointly funded by the UK Government and the industry and set up in direct response to the Stewart Report, is the main focus for our support in the UK. We are contributing to the overall research budget which exceeds £7 million over a six-year period. The MTHR programme currently covers 23 studies, including exposure, dosimetry, epidemiology, and the psychological and social effects of mobile telephony.
Separately, the MTHR management committee manages additional programmes, including the £10 million Home Office study on Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA) – the technology provided by O2 Airwave, our secure network for emergency services. Under the MTHR programme an assessment of Specific Absorption Rates (SAR) to the head from TETRA handsets has already been published.
O2 Germany supports Deutsches Mobilfunk Forschungsprogramm, a €17 million project, which is also jointly funded by the German Government and the industry. O2 will eventually contribute 11 per cent of the total cost of the four-year research programme of 18 studies – including biology, dosimetry and risk communication.
During 2003/04 we also helped to fund new and continuous research in this subject.
Working with other operators
We participate in and fund a number of industry groups, including the Mobile Operators Association (MOA) in the UK, the Informationszentrum Mobilfunk e.V. (IZMF) in Germany and GSM Europe. The MOA champions the UK industry's Ten Commitments on the siting of mobile communication masts.
They address community concerns about mast development by ensuring transparency in building mobile phone networks, providing more information to the public and local planners and boosting the community's role in the siting of communication masts. We are committed to complying with the Ten Commitments for our operations in the UK while our other operating businesses have committed to similar recommendations developed by the industry association GSM Europe.
Voluntary self-regulation helps us to be transparent in our dealings with local communities and to generate trust among residents affected by our operations. In each of our markets we employ community relations managers to consult the public and local agencies to explain our mast development strategy.
Last year the industry commissioned an external review of UK operators' compliance with the Ten Commitments. The review concluded that operators had made progress in implementing them, but also identified areas for improvement. One recommendation suggested that we improve record keeping because the information kept by acquisition agents did not adequately prove that operators were conforming to best practice. In response to the review's findings we have improved our procedures and controls over the level of local consultation required. The review was followed by a series of five half-day industry seminars with almost 600 agents, planning consultants and operators to ensure they follow site selection, planning models and record keeping procedures properly. UK operators have agreed to fund another external review in 2004.
We have a formal agreement to share 3G networks with T-Mobile in Germany and a general policy to share masts with all other operators and use existing infrastructure wherever feasible.
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| Safety levels | Research | Co-operation | Informed debate | Technology | Distraction driving |
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Supporting informed debate
The dissemination of clear and accurate information is an important part of the industry's work and we try to influence it at several levels.
We work through consultation and dialogue. O2 chairs the GSM Europe working group on environment and health issues and regularly engages with public health agencies. We have recently called for improved information on health and mobile telecommunications from the European Commission. During the year, we took an active part in both planning and participating in a health conference jointly organised by GSM Europe, the Mobile Manufacturers Forum and the European Commission to share evidence and opinion on the contribution of mobile communications to safety, the environment and European society. Around 200 government representatives and stakeholders attended and a second conference is planned for September 2004.
We talk to local communities, advertise our activities and employ customer service staff trained in responding to health and mast siting complaints to run our dedicated helpline for these issues. Our leaflets were reviewed during the year and we have recently published two new ones outlining the health issues of mobile networks and our research policies. The IZMF co-operated with partners and published leaflets for doctors, parents and teachers. We have also issued a new video, that explains the health and safety issues around O2 Airwave's TETRA technology.
O2 often takes a lead in producing industry-wide information material. For example, our technology department was responsible for drafting advice for the MOA on Repetitive Strain Injury, an important issue in light of the huge growth in text messaging and games played on mobile phones.
Technology
With the arrival of third generation or 3G services, we will work to reassure the public that more sophisticated services will not mean more health risks. We believe that the perceived risk from these multimedia technologies will, if anything, be reduced because devices tend to be used away from the head. Importantly, TETRA and 3G base stations will not overall require higher levels of power than existing GSM base stations.
Distraction driving
Last year we reported on distraction driving and how we had been involved in consulting the UK Government on the proposed legislation to ban the use of hand-held mobile devices whilst driving. This legislation has been introduced in all of our markets and we continue to make available information leaflets on this topic for our customers as well as our employees.
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| MAST SITING |
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| We aim to listen to and consult communities on where we put our masts > |
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| Do mobile operators consult fully enough with communities on where we put our masts? |
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| We want to share masts with other operators as often as possible to minimise the effect of network development. We entered into groundbreaking 3G network sharing agreements with T-Mobile in the UK and Germany. |
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