Mobile Carriers Forum

Transcription

1 Mobile Carriers Forum Mauritius Information & Communication Technologies Authority Workshop Session 3 The Precautionary Approach and it s application to EME Safety in Australia July 2011

2 Agenda The Australian scene Regulatory Environment in Australia Industry Structure The ACIF Code of Deployment The Precautionary Approach Case Study Richmond Oval Code Complaint statistics 5 year review of the code Openness and Transparency How this can translate to the Mauritius code for Deployment

3 How can this translate into the Mauritius Code for Deployment Take small steps; Be unified in the approach; Focus on what the public will see value in and that can practicably provided Have information publicly available such as: Fact sheets Deployment processes Site specific information such as EME reports Be transparent, open and honest Accept that there will always be people who do not agree with your proposals Don t try and change the world

4 Australian Scene Australia s population is 22.5 million Number of wireless subscribers is 26.5 million Equates to 116% penetration Mobiles surpassed land lines in 2001 * Representative of coverage in Australia

5 Australian Scene Australia s land mass is about same as United States; Capital expenditure on new networks exceeded $10billion over last 5 years; Ten years ago we had 7 carriers, we now have 3; All carriers are currently deploying Long Term Evolution (LTE); Optus and Vodafone have a network infrastructure sharing agreement for 3G 2100; The number of base stations in Australia has exceeded 17,000 Mobile broadband is in high demand throughout the economy with growth projections in the order of 280% to 2014 (Source - Access Economics Economic Contribution of Mobile Telecommunications in Australia 2010).

6 Regulatory Environment in Australia Federal Legislation (Telecommunications Act 1997) Low-impact Determination (LID) governing low-impact sites e.g. rooftop installations and co-locations State Planning Laws e.g. towers and masts State Health & Safety Laws Australian Communication & Media Authority (ACMA) Federal Regulator Australian Radio Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) Department of Health Code for Deployment Communications Alliance (currently going through a review)

7 Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association (AMTA) Structure AMTA Mobile Carriers Forum Business Development Health & Safety Policy & Strategy Recycling Member Services RF Safety Compliance Program Infrastructure

8 WHAT IS THE MCF? The Mobile Carriers Forum (MCF) is an industry group representing the three mobile phone carriers deploying mobile networks in Australia, namely Telstra, Optus and Vodafone Hutchison Australia (VHA). The MCF is a division of the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association (AMTA), the peak industry body for the mobile telecommunications industry. The MCF deals specifically with issues related to the deployment and operation of mobile phone networks (social, economic and environmental issues). The MCF facilitates inter - carrier co-ordination and co-operation. The MCF is committed to addressing the social, environmental and political issues relating to mobile infrastructure deployment and network operations with a clear focus on the interests of the community

9 ACIF Code for Deployment Some members of the community raised concerns about EME with respect to the deployment of telecommunication base stations; Those concerns are taken seriously by the industry; Industry agreed to adopt an enforceable Code of Practice which incorporated the adoption of precautionary behaviours to siting, design and operation of base stations, e.g. Design and operate base stations with the objective of minimising electromagnetic emissions C564:2004

10 ACIF Code for Deployment Code introduced notification and consultation procedures for those sites which do not require local council consent Carriers must co-locate where possible Requires carriers to have written procedures for site selection Requires carriers to provide EME\EMR environmental reports for every site, as per the Department Health ARPANSA requirements Carriers can be fined up to $250,000 per breach

11 ACIF Code for Deployment - co location Code requirement to co-locate where ever possible The carriers have worked together to ensure sufficient information and co-operation is available to encourage co-location Memorandum of Understanding for In Building Systems Twice annual national meeting to provide an over view of the next six months deployment program Monthly regional MCF meetings to discuss specific sites Technical information made available on the National Site Archive (NSA) to allow carriers to undertake preliminary due diligence on possible collocation options

12 The Precautionary Approach A Precautionary Approach is one in which precautions are taken to protect people or the environment irrespective of whether risk has been conclusively proven. The Code specifies the adoption of a Precautionary Approach to the siting, design and operation of telecommunications radio equipment. The Code specifies that carriers must Document decision; Minimise emissions; and have regard to a range of factors in siting a base station including councils views and community sensitive locations.

13 The Precautionary Approach to site selection For each site the Carrier must have regard to: (a) the reasonable service objectives of the Carrier including: (i) the area the planned service must cover; (ii) power levels needed to provide quality of service; (iii) the amount of usage the planned service must handle; (b) minimization of EME\EMR exposure to the public; (c) the likelihood of an area being a community sensitive location. (d) the objective of avoiding community sensitive locations; (e) relevant state and local government telecommunications planning policies; (f) the outcomes of consultation processes with Councils and communities

14 The Precautionary Approach to site selection cont d (g) the heritage significance (built, cultural and natural); (h) the physical characteristics of the locality including elevation and terrain; (i) the availability of land and public utilities; (j) the availability of transmission to connect the radio communications infrastructure with the rest of the network, e.g. line of sight for microwave transmission; (k) the radiofrequency interference the planned service may cause to other services; (l) the radiofrequency interference the planned service could experience at that location from other services or sources of radio emissions; (m) any obligations, and opportunities, to co-locate facilities; and (n) cost factors. P.A.C 5.1

15 Applying the Precautionary Approach to Design For each site the Carrier must have regard to: a)the reason for the installation of the infrastructure considering coverage, capacity and quality; b)the position of the antennas to minimise obstruction of radio signal; c)the objective of restricting access to areas where RF exposure may exceed limits of the EMR standard; d)the type and features of the infrastructure that are required to meet service needs including: i. The need for macro, micro or pico cells; and ii. The need for directional or non-directional antennas P.A.C 5.2 With the objective of minimising unnecessary or incidental RF Emissions and exposure.

16 Applying the Precautionary Approach to Site Operation For each site the Carrier must have regard to: a)the kinds of people who may have access to the area; b)the need for physical barriers; c)relevant occupational health and safety requirements; d)the views of the property owner; e)any site changes that have been made; and f)any other matter which may be relevant to ensure site safety with regards to EME P.A.C 5.7

17 Case Study Richmond Oval Background Telstra had a need to improve mobile phone coverage in the satellite city of Geelong in Victoria Following a review of possible candidates in the area, it was decided that the best site was an existing light pole in a football oval The football oval is surrounded predominantly by residential houses Telstra commenced with consultation as per Section 5.4 and 5.5 of the ACIF Code for a new installation

18 Case Study Richmond Oval

19 Case Study Richmond Oval Next Steps Developed a strategy plan do further consult with the residents which included: Increased area for the letter drop to residents; Acknowledgement that there was a perception that the level of Consultation was not adequate; Provided face to face briefings to key stakeholders such as local Councilors, State Members of Parliament; Place an advertorial in the local paper; Undertook two drop in sessions for the public to come and obtain information about the proposal and to ask questions; Undertook pre and post field measurements and provided these to the residents.

20 Case Study Richmond Oval The drop in sessions where attended by over 100 people over the two days; Positive feedback was given to Telstra on the site selection process; The community was able to hear first hand from Telstra via the advertorial. The fear of the unknown was alleviated with the availability of independent experts Council gave Telstra permission to proceed with the build; Telstra received praise from the wider community; Telstra followed through with its promise to provide field measurements after the site was operational; Carriers enhanced their consultation process by focusing on proactive upfront consultation.

21 ACMA Report on ACIF Code Complaints Year No. of Complaints Relating to No of Sites (% of all consultations) No of sites deployed / ACIF Consultations conducted (low impact base station sites) 2002 / / (2.15%) > 1, / (2.27%) > 1, / (0.55%) 3,639 consultations conducted 2006 / (1.62%) 1,292 consultations conducted 2007 / (0.19%) 2,587 consultations conducted 2008 / (0.52%) 1,159 consultations conducted 2009 / (0.44%) 1,580 consultations conducted

22 Flexibility rather than prescription Recent experimental research (Wiedemann et al. 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, Barnett and Timotijevic, 2007) has suggested that information about precautionary measures can have a counter-intuitive impact on the public s risk perception of mobile communication technology. Individuals informed about precautionary measures, perceive the risks as being much greater than those who were not informed about the precautionary measures. Wiedemann and Schütz (2005 p16 ) found that providing too much or poorly targeted information about precautionary measures raises public anxiety. Public anxiety is expressed in terms of lack of trust in the regulators and carriers, and increased opposition and complaint. The more deterministic, codified the approach to community consultation, the lesser the quality of consultation and the greater the opportunity for disruption and derogation through procedural challenges. The practical conclusion is to target information carefully and deal with stakeholders and members of the public in an open and transparent, not formulaic manner

23 Scheduled 5 year Review of Australia s s Code The Code in Australia is currently being reviewed to update and further improve the effectiveness of consultation and transparency. The Review is being conducted through Communications Alliance (CA) Working Committee. CA has a leadership role in facilitating industry-based solutions to sectoral issues especially Codes for self-regulation. The Committee comprises industry representatives, two community representatives and the regulator ACMA also participates. A productive working relationship has been established between industry and community representatives. Changes to the Code provisions are to be expected with the key differences being a longer consultation process for each new site (from 10 business days to 15), and a shift to the provision of consultation material on-line (through the carriers National Site Archive) as well as by post. Standardisation of consultation signs on site and further clarity regarding how the community can participate in the process is also included in the changes.

24 Openness and Transparency Section 5.8 of the Code of Deployment states the following: A carrier must keep documentary evidence of their compliance with the Code for a period of three years. Benefits to maintaining clear, succinct documentation on the thoughts and processes behind the site selection and community consultation for a site, including: Being able to provide documentation behind the site selection Confirmation that the site selection process included a range of factors including perceived community sensitive locations; Timely and accurate response to initial enquiries by ACMA which in turn allows ACMA to provide a response back to the complainant in a timely manner; Shows that the carrier has accountability for the process Shows the carriers compliance to the process A carrier has not found to be in breach of the Code to date, in two instances carriers have been given a warning and in both cases carriers implemented changes to ensure it didn t reoccur.

25 How can this translate into the Mauritius Code for Deployment Take small steps; Be unified in the approach; Focus on what the public will see value in and that can practicably provided Have information publicly available such as: Fact sheets Deployment processes Site specific information such as EME reports Be transparent, open and honest Accept that there will always be people who do not agree with your proposals Don t try and change the world

26 Thank you. Questions?