An End to Cell Towers?

[Mary]

NEW YORK ? As cell phones have spread, so have large cell towers ? those unsightly stalks of steel topped by transmitters and other electronics that sprouted across the country over the last decade.

 

Now the wireless industry is planning a future without them, or at least without many more of them. Instead, it's looking at much smaller antennas, some tiny enough to hold in a hand. These could be placed on lampposts, utility poles and buildings ? virtually anywhere with electrical and network connections.

 

If the technology overcomes some hurdles, it could upend the wireless industry and offer seamless service, with fewer dead spots and faster data speeds.

 

NOW WOULDN'T THAT BE NICE!

[Evil Sid]

Wonder what will be said as regards the health hazards of them then.

[inky pete]

The smaller antennnae are much lower power than the older, big ones - so you need more of them spaced much closer together to get coverage. Maybe every couple of hundred yards or so rather than every 2 - 3 miles for a big mast.

 

But the result is that you get a lower power, but more even, radiation coverage over an area and avoid the problem of having to have high concentrations near to the big masts in order to still get enough signal strength when you get further away.

[Bill]

There's no magic here the shorter the range the less power's needed so it gets down to something approaching a bluetooth connection so no health issues.

 

Once the signals reach the towers they're effectivly routed by the internet. So somewhere like London where almost every houshold has a wireless broadband router it's is a ready made communications system. I think the Blackberries already use this in the London area.

 

Bill

[silverlady54]

I don't think anyone yet knows what the long term health impact of wireless technology is. As with mobile phones, there could be some nasty aspects of it which will only become clearer when people start presenting with strange symptoms or illnesses which cannot be explained.

 

Some people are already highly sensitive to electrical fields, some have problems with the new light bulbs we are being forced to use. There are undoubtably as yet unseen hazards with wireless technology and it does worry me.

[Bill]

I used to say that about the old tellies because there was a certain amount of radiation emitted which over a prolonged time could have had health implications. (My suspicions were aroused when I noticed a skeletal image forming on the back of my armchair. )

 

Exactly the same with radio but what?s being suggested here dramatically reduces the radio frequency radiation down to such low levels that there can?t be any health risks.

 

Bill

[silverlady54]

I won't be convinced until they can prove no problems after 10/15 years!!

[Bill]

I might be thinking the same if mobile phone technology had just been invented but it?s already been around for more than 15 years already.

 

The proposed system would dramatically reduce the amount of signal needed to communicate thereby making it safer than ever. The levels we?re talking about are about the same as the average laptop, wireless router or even the central locking on your car.

 

 

Bill

[silverlady54]

I might be thinking the same if mobile phone technology had just been invented but it?s already been around for more than 15 years already.

 

Bill

 

But they are still arguing about the effect that mobiles can have on people, especially children and those sensitive to the signals.

[inky pete]

The fact that they're still arguing means there's no conclusive evidence that ANY harm is, or has been, occurring.

 

In the meantime, countless lives have been saved because people have had access to mobile phones and wireless internet.

[Peter T]

The fact that they're still arguing means there's no conclusive evidence that ANY harm is, or has been, occurring.

 

In the meantime, countless lives have been saved because people have had access to mobile phones and wireless internet.

 

You can't use that, there's too much logic. People prefer the scare factor.

 

At the end of the day, we die. I doubt the manufacturers are going to set themselves up for millions of litigation cases.

 

They used to say that luminous hands on watches could give you radiation.

They say that too many x-rays can do the same. I have had hundreds and sadly for some am still alive.