You may recall that I posted a brief story about the fact that the Industry Minister James Moore was going to make an announcement today. Well, the announcement in question was that there will be new rules for wireless companies planning to install antenna towers:
To help address the concerns of citizens about the number of new towers being built in their communities, in March 2013 the Harper Government announced changes to its telecommunications policy. These changes reinforced the requirement that any company wanting to build a new tower first had to look at sharing an existing tower or using an existing structure for its antenna.
The improvements to the Antenna Tower Siting Policy that were announced today will further strengthen the requirements for the wireless industry to consult with local residents, increase transparency for municipalities and improve communications throughout the tower siting process.
Specific changes will include:
- requiring a company to consult on all commercial tower installations, regardless of height;
- establishing a three-year limit between the time of consultation and the time a tower is built;
- ensuring residents are well-informed of upcoming consultations by requiring communications from the company to be clearly marked; and
- encouraging municipalities to get involved early in the tower siting process.
Furthermore, new measures will strengthen federal communications with the public on tower siting procedures. This will include:
- new online resources; and
- new reporting mechanisms to track tower issues and report back to communities.
When an issue or impasse arises that is related to a new tower site, the parties can approach Industry Canada for a determination.
The location of cell antennas have been an issue in Canada with people often getting very upset at the location of some of these towers. Here are a few examples of this from across Canada. So this announcement addresses that concern. Now the cynical side of me also looks at this announcement and sees it as another shot across the bow of wireless companies because this process continues the trend of the Canadian Government wanting public input while taking a shot at the big three among others. But many will see this as a positive move.
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This entry was posted on February 5, 2014 at 7:02 pm and is filed under Commentary with tags Canada, wireless. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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Industry Minister Announces New Cell Antenna Tower Rules
You may recall that I posted a brief story about the fact that the Industry Minister James Moore was going to make an announcement today. Well, the announcement in question was that there will be new rules for wireless companies planning to install antenna towers:
To help address the concerns of citizens about the number of new towers being built in their communities, in March 2013 the Harper Government announced changes to its telecommunications policy. These changes reinforced the requirement that any company wanting to build a new tower first had to look at sharing an existing tower or using an existing structure for its antenna.
The improvements to the Antenna Tower Siting Policy that were announced today will further strengthen the requirements for the wireless industry to consult with local residents, increase transparency for municipalities and improve communications throughout the tower siting process.
Specific changes will include:
Furthermore, new measures will strengthen federal communications with the public on tower siting procedures. This will include:
When an issue or impasse arises that is related to a new tower site, the parties can approach Industry Canada for a determination.
The location of cell antennas have been an issue in Canada with people often getting very upset at the location of some of these towers. Here are a few examples of this from across Canada. So this announcement addresses that concern. Now the cynical side of me also looks at this announcement and sees it as another shot across the bow of wireless companies because this process continues the trend of the Canadian Government wanting public input while taking a shot at the big three among others. But many will see this as a positive move.
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This entry was posted on February 5, 2014 at 7:02 pm and is filed under Commentary with tags Canada, wireless. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.