© 2025 News On The Block. All rights reserved.
News on the Block is a trading name of Premier Property Media Ltd.
© 2025 News On The Block. All rights reserved.
News on the Block is a trading name of Premier Property Media Ltd.
The debate over whether mobile phones and the masts that transmit signals to them are safe has been wrangling for years; however a recent report concluded they cause no ill-effects. Jamie Reid investigates how the new research could be good news for people living in blocks of flats.
In the UK there are more mobile phones than there are people. The most recent figures show there are now in excess of 70 million active handsets in the country and in order for these to work properly; they need masts (sometimes called base stations). Whenever a call is made from a mobile device the handset sends a signal to the nearest phone mast that controls the cell (the geographical area the mast transmits to).
Cell capability can vary drastically depending on location and demand. While a large phone mast may be able to carry up to 150 calls simultaneously, a smaller one may only be able to carry 30. Therefore in towns and cities an increasing number of phone masts are appearing and all the major networks are willing to pay significant sums to the blocks that allow them to use their building as a base station.
There are around 51,000 masts in the UK, and the majority of those are integrated into the design of a building – taking the aesthetic concerns that many have voiced in the past out of the equation. The only other issue in the past has been the persistent rumblings from various health groups that there could be a cancer risk caused by the radiation the masts emit, and because the technology is so new, the fear has been that we may be sitting on a time bomb. However, new research may once and for all prove these fears to be unfounded and the UK could be on the verge of a phone mast boom.
In 2000 a major research programme into mobile phone safety established that there was no evidence connecting mobile phone usage to adverse health effect, nor was there any evidence that living near a mast could cause damage to the health. Earlier this year an additional study, titled the Mobile Telecommunications Health Research (MTHR), was commissioned to fill gaps in scientific knowledge identified in the original report. The study concluded that “none of the research supported by the Programme and published so far demonstrates that biological or adverse health effects are produced by radio frequency exposure from mobile phones.” The report also noted that exposures from phone masts are well below international guidelines.
The findings have echoed conclusions drawn by a number of other studies over the past decade and despite the existence of a minority who still believe the phone masts could carry a health risk, the general consensus among the scientific and academic community is that the masts pose little or no threat to the general public.
In addition to the MTHR study, the British Medical Association (BMR) and the Advisory Group on Non-ionising Radiation (AGNIR) have both completed comprehensive research into the issue. In 2003 the AGNIR report concluded: “Exposure levels from living near mobile phone base stations are extremely low, and the overall evidence indicated that they are unlikely to pose a human health risk.”
Ofcom has also undertaken more than 500 audits of base stations near schools and hospitals and in residential areas. The measurements from these audits show that emission levels from base stations are typically small fractions of the ICNIRP international health and safety guidelines. The highest reading measured was 279 times below the recommended guidelines.
Commenting on the vast amount of research that concludes phone masts pose no threat a spokesperson for the Mobile Operators Association said: “People can be very reassured by the science. Scientific review carried out around the world has not found adverse health effects caused by mobile phone base stations operating within international health and safety guidelines.”
So what will the new findings mean to people living in flats? Now that public confidence is rising about the safety of phone masts, freeholders could increasingly find themselves in the favourable position of being able to charge the major phone operators a significant amount of money to put a mast on their building, which could see a number of sinking funds across the country receiving a considerable boost in revenue in the not too distant future. If the freehold is owned by a third party, it is also plausible that leaseholders could benefit if a negotiation takes place between the RMC directors, the freeholder and the phone operators. While it is difficult to put an exact price the masts will generate for each block because it varies on size and location, the potential benefits can be great. The phone operators are also doing their bit, coming up with new ways to hide unsightly masts. They are being disguised as chimneys, clocks, drainpipes and even trees, while improving technology means the masts are becoming smaller and smaller.
If you are interested in learning more and want to find out how your block could get involved then contact your managing agent. If your block is self-managed it is important you consider planning permission and contact a planning lawyer. Additionally it is advisable to contact the planning development department of your local authority for more advice on this topic.
* Mobile phones have been freely available for more than 20 years
* During the period between December 1999 to December 2000 a total of 46,000 new users joined the UK mobile phone network every day
* More than five millions handsets were purchased during the 2000 Christmas period
* More UK households now have a mobile phone than a landline (90 per cent compared to 93 per cent)
84 per cent of adults reported personally using a mobile phone in Q1 2007
* The industry contributes £15 billion a year to government finances