Press Releases

GSM Europe and its 130 Mobile Operator Members Endorse First Implementation Report on Good Network Rollout

Review of 'Good Practice' Recommendations on network rollout demonstrates community health and environmental concerns are being addressed

28th January 2003 - Group of the GSM Association- announced the first Implementation Review of the base station deployment 'good practice' recommendations. Launched over a year ago, the GSME self-regulatory initiative has made clear progress in addressing community health and environmental concerns about network rollout and base station siting.

In November 2001, GSME announced a series of self-regulatory measures - 'Good Practice Recommendations for Network Rollout'. The objective of these measures was to improve communications and consultation to address the community challenges presented by the continued rapid growth of mobile communications.

The implementation review highlights that the 'good practice' recommendations are beginning to achieve their goals: improved data availability to national and local authorities and other key stakeholders, more site sharing initiatives when feasible, enhanced consideration of environmental sensitivity and more information available on the operation of base station facilities.

'The review of our recommendations demonstrates that GSM Europe and its mobile operator members are helping to ensure that the right balance is struck between enabling development and access to mobile services in Europe and enabling operators to address new planning policies which are restricting network deployment opportunities and the community issues presented by the implementation of additional network infrastructure for 2G and 3G services,' said Kaisu Karvala, Chair GSM Europe.

'GSM Europe recognises that concerns about the development of the mobile industry should be addressed in an open and transparent manner and this review shows that our members are working more closely with their communities to address and minimise their concerns,' added Karvala.

European mobile operators and the GSM Association are also supporting quality research programmes at EU and Member State level based on the World Health Organization (WHO) research agenda. This research will ensure any identified gaps in the knowledge are filled and that guidelines for limiting both public and occupational exposure to RF are scientifically based, rather than the arbitrary values being imposed by some Member States.


Notes to Editor:

About GSM Europe
GSM Europe is the European interest group of the GSM Association, the premier global body behind the world's leading wireless communications standard. GSM Europe represents around 130 operators in 50 countries/areas in Europe and counts around 380 million subscribers. The GSM Association is responsible for the development, deployment and evolution of the GSM standard for digital wireless communications and for the promotion of the GSM platform.

About the GSM Association
The GSM Association (GSMA) is the world's leading wireless industry representative body. It consists of more than 660 second and third generation wireless network operators working collaboratively to define, prioritise and communicate requirements, as well as key manufacturers and suppliers to the wireless industry. The Association's members provide digital wireless services to more than 787 million customers (end December 2002).

The GSM family of wireless communications platforms account for approximately 72 percent of the total digital wireless market today. The GSM
Association is a unique organization, with truly global reach, offering a full range of business and technical services to its members. For more information, visit the website at www.gsmworld.com.

GSM is a registered trademark, registered and owned by the GSM Association.

For further details, please contact:

Kiki Walravens
Communications Manager GSM Europe
Tel: +32 15 27 59 06
Mob: +32 472 293 858
Fax: +32 15 27 03 21
E-mail kiki.Walravens@pi.be

Or:

Liz Macfarlan
Communications Dept
The GSM Association
Tel: +44 207 5180533
Fax: Fax: +44 207 518 0531
Email: lmacfarlan@gsm.org