Northern Ireland Data Available On The"Sitefinder" Facility For Mobile Telephone Transmitters

Press Release - 21 January 2002

The Radiocommunications Agency announced today that information on cellular base stations in Northern Ireland was being published on its website at www.sitefinder.radio.gov.uk. This adds to the information already available information for stations in the rest of the UK.

Sitefinder is a map-based database which shows the locations of operational cellular base station transmitter sites and gives details about them. It was launched by the Radiocommunications Agency on the 5th October, providing information on base station sites in England, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland has now been added after suitable mapping data was successfully identified.

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:

" The Sitefinder facility has been well received by its users amongst the public, industry and other Government agencies. I am glad that today we can complete the picture with the addition of Northern Ireland, making information on cellular base stations available for the whole of the UK."

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 Scotland and now Northern Ireland. Sitefinder shows information on operational sites for the four current service operators and of the five operators of third generation networks when these are rolled out.
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.

3. Sitefinder 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 also indicates how to contact the operator of a specific base station.

4. The database of audit results at schools can also be found on the Agency's website www.radio.gov.uk

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 from: http://www.iegmp.org.uk

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RA/PN/2002/02