R E L A T E D C O N T E N T

Wireless cities "pose no threat" to people’s health

BT dispels wi-fi safety fears as it signs a deal with Westiminster

Andrea-Marie Vassou, Computeract!ve 30 Nov 2006

BT has moved to dispel fears that wireless network signals pose a threat to people's health, despite some scientists claiming that the small amounts of radiation emitted from the transmitters could be dangerous.

The telco has just signed a deal with Westminster council to cover six square miles of the borough in wireless signals. This will allow council workers and residents to securely access the local network, pay for services and access information online anywhere in the area.

Despite independent body the Health Protection Agency claiming “wi-fi for radiation issues had become more persuasive in the last five years”, BT disagrees.

A spokesman for BT said: "The power levels transmitted from Wlan access points and from the communication cards in a PC are under 100mW. This very low power results in exposure levels which are usually thousands of times below the ICNIRP (International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection) public exposure guidelines.”

The World Health Organisation has also issued a fact sheet regarding base stations and wireless networks, in which it claims: “Considering the very low exposure levels and research results collected to date, there is no convincing scientific evidence that the weak RF signals from base stations and wireless networks cause adverse health effects.”

The wireless proposal comes as part of BT’s wireless cities campaign and follows the announcement from Birmingham City Council, which teamed up with BT earlier this month to create its own wireless city.

The campaign is part of BT’s strategy to ensure consumers are always connected, wherever they are and using whatever device they want.

Councillor Colin Barrow of Westminster City Council, said: “This will allow us to deliver our goals for community safety by supporting a more flexible and adaptable CCTV network.

“Through wireless technology, Westminster will be a better place to live and work; the council will be more efficient, and be able to keep the streets safer.”

The Westminster roll out is set to be complete within the next 18 months and general access will be through the BT Open World tarrif.

For £5 a month existing customers get up to 500 minutes of Wi-fi access. Subscription prices start at £10 per month for 250 minutes and there are also two ‘pay as you go’ options of 6p per min or £6 for one hour.