The New Nation - Internet Edition

THE Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has issued a set of guidelines for infrastructure sharing among the cell-phone service providers. The sharing is intended for minimising the cost of network deployment and protecting the environment. Six mobile phone companies operating in the country have reportedly installed more than twenty thousand base stations presumably without co-ordination. At some places, especially in the urban areas, stations are found installed very close to one another. Whether safe height and distance of the towers have been maintained is a matter of concern. Then there are installation costs. But these could be avoided through sharing of the base stations by the service providers. The guidelines say a provider may share at least 75 percent of transmission capacity at each station with others. New stations can be installed with permission from BTRC only where there is no network to share.

This appears to be a decision in the right direction. These measures if implemented would reduce further expansion of physical structures and make the services cost-effective and more competitive. The existing base stations in the rural areas occupy huge agricultural land. With the sharing facilities all-country coverage will be established for all the operators. Moreover, the providers would be able to make services more efficient.

Introduction of mobile phone has revolutionised the telecommunication system of the country. But, at the same time, it poses serious health hazards. Under the impact of electro-magnetic waves and ultraviolet rays emitted by the large number of towers, according to a recent survey, people exposed to those might suffer from fatal diseases like tumour, cancer, Alzheimer. It will also have serious negative impact on bio-diversity. Indiscriminate disposal of mobile batteries containing harmful chemicals is another potential source of environmental and health hazards.