New "Sitefinder" Facility For Mobile Telephone Transmitters

Press Release - 5th October 2001

The Radiocommunications Agency announced that a new facility is today being published on its website at www.radio.gov.uk

Sitefinder is a map-based database which shows the locations of operational cellular base station transmitter sites and gives details about them. It is based on information provided by the mobile telephony operating companies, who have co-operated closely with the Agency in creating this service. The information will be updated at three-monthly intervals. The database will also indicate how to contact the operator of a specific base station.

Sitefinder meets the Government commitment to provide information following the recommendations of the Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones (IEGMP) under the chairmanship of Sir William Stewart.

Radiocommunications Agency Chief Executive David Hendon said today:

"This new facility provides the means by which people can be more aware of the number and locations of radio base stations that support the telephone systems that play such an important part in everyday life. This complements the results of the audit of emissions from mobile telephony base stations that the Agency has undertaken at schools, and which is published on the Agency's web site. This audit shows that the emissions that we have measured are substantially inside the international exposure guidelines and meet, by a substantial margin, the corresponding recommendation of the Expert group".

Notes to editors

1. The Radiocommunications Agency is an Executive Agency of the Department of Trade and industry.

2. "Sitefinder" is a map-based Internet facility covering England, Wales and Scotland. Northern Ireland data is expected to be added later in the year. Sitefinder will show information on operational sites for the four current service operators and of the five operators of third generation networks when these are rolled out.

3. The Stewart Report of May 2000 recommended a national database be set up by the Government giving details of all base stations and their emissions.

4. The database of audit results at schools can also be found on the Agency's website:

www.radio.gov.uk/topics/mpsafety/school-audit/stewindx.htm

5. The recommendations of the IEGMP in respect of the Sitefinder database was recommendation 1.39. The audit recommendation was 1.40. The full text of the IEGMP report is still available at: http://www.iegmp.org.uk

Press Enquiries: 020 7211 0086
Public Enquiries: 020 7211 0662
Radiocommunications Agency website: www.radio.gov.uk
Out of hours: 020 7215 5110/5600
Textphone for those with hearing impairment: 020 7215 6740

RA/PN/2001/10