The Federal Council of Switzerland will consider a report that recommends raising the country’s restrictive mobile phone network exposure limits in line with the guidelines recommended by the , as politicians explore measures to meet increased network demands.
The Future-oriented mobile telephony networks (in French) report, produced by the Swiss Federal Office of Communications, recognises that mobile data usage in Switzerland has increased and that network operators need more capacity to meet the demand.
“The ever-increasing use of mobile data means that mobile phone networks need continuous upgrades,” the report said.
While the report suggests that this could be achieved by making additional frequencies available for telecommunications or by building more antennas, it warns that both options would be expensive.
“The current situation requires more antennas to be built, increasing the cost of the network,” the report said.
A more economical option suggested by the report would be to increase the exposure levels in line with those recommended by Switzerland’s European neighbours, and set by the World Health Organization.
“Easing the limit values imposed by the ONIR [Ordinance on protection from non-ionising radiation] would make it possible to make better use of existing sites and to appreciably reduce future requirements for new antenna sites. However, these measures would result in an increase in the radiation around base stations,” wrote the Swiss Federal Office of Communications on their website.
Switzerland has some of the most restrictive exposure limits in Europe, although nominally based on the guidelines set by the International Commission on Non-ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), which form the basis of most countries’ exposure limits, they include additional arbitrary restrictions around ‘sensitive spaces’ such as schools, hospitals and other areas where people remain in one place for extended periods of time.
In practice this means that mobile phone base stations are restricted in the very areas where demand is highest. According to the report, over a third of Swiss base stations are at their artificially imposed capacity and cannot be increased under the current limits set by the Ordinance on protection from non-ionising radiation (ONIR).
The report will serve as a basis for the parliamentary debate to determine whether amendments to the ONIR are appropriate as a means of ensuring the viability of Switzerland’s mobile phone network.
A separate report (.pdf in German), recently commissioned by the association of Swiss network operators, found that Swiss mobile communications is burdened by overly strict environmental exposure limits that hinder network deployment and detract from mobile phone services.
Furthermore a PwC report from 2013 found that compliance with Switzerland’s strict exposure limits for mobile phone base station signals costs Swiss network operators up to 35 per cent more to operate the mobile network than in neighbouring countries and could see costs quadruple in less than four years.
Source: GSMA.com
The Future-oriented mobile telephony networks (in French) report, produced by the Swiss Federal Office of Communications, recognises that mobile data usage in Switzerland has increased and that network operators need more capacity to meet the demand.
“The ever-increasing use of mobile data means that mobile phone networks need continuous upgrades,” the report said.
While the report suggests that this could be achieved by making additional frequencies available for telecommunications or by building more antennas, it warns that both options would be expensive.
“The current situation requires more antennas to be built, increasing the cost of the network,” the report said.
A more economical option suggested by the report would be to increase the exposure levels in line with those recommended by Switzerland’s European neighbours, and set by the World Health Organization.
“Easing the limit values imposed by the ONIR [Ordinance on protection from non-ionising radiation] would make it possible to make better use of existing sites and to appreciably reduce future requirements for new antenna sites. However, these measures would result in an increase in the radiation around base stations,” wrote the Swiss Federal Office of Communications on their website.
Switzerland has some of the most restrictive exposure limits in Europe, although nominally based on the guidelines set by the International Commission on Non-ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), which form the basis of most countries’ exposure limits, they include additional arbitrary restrictions around ‘sensitive spaces’ such as schools, hospitals and other areas where people remain in one place for extended periods of time.
In practice this means that mobile phone base stations are restricted in the very areas where demand is highest. According to the report, over a third of Swiss base stations are at their artificially imposed capacity and cannot be increased under the current limits set by the Ordinance on protection from non-ionising radiation (ONIR).
The report will serve as a basis for the parliamentary debate to determine whether amendments to the ONIR are appropriate as a means of ensuring the viability of Switzerland’s mobile phone network.
A separate report (.pdf in German), recently commissioned by the association of Swiss network operators, found that Swiss mobile communications is burdened by overly strict environmental exposure limits that hinder network deployment and detract from mobile phone services.
Furthermore a PwC report from 2013 found that compliance with Switzerland’s strict exposure limits for mobile phone base station signals costs Swiss network operators up to 35 per cent more to operate the mobile network than in neighbouring countries and could see costs quadruple in less than four years.
Source: GSMA.com
