Chile‘s lower house of congress approved a bill last month regulating the installation of mobile phone antennas. The bill now must be ratified by the Senate.
Under the proposal, any dealer-installed support tower antennas and radiating systems telecommunications transmission over 12 meters tall would require installation permit from the Directorate of Municipal Works, which determines in which areas antennas may be built as well as the rates that municipalities may charge for the right of use.
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Among other points, the respective board of residents would be able to address their comments about tower installations. For example, they would be able to require that the tower be aligned architecturally with its urban environment. Thereafter, improvement projects may propose alternative public space to those made by the applicant or alternative tower designs seek to minimize urban and architectural impact.
The bill creates a grant fund for research on the effects of the operation of telecommunications systems, especially regarding the possible impact on public health, urban areas and the environment.
On the other hand, the project cannot define towers within public or private educational establishments, nurseries, kindergartens, hospitals, clinics or offices, where there are urban properties pylons or nursing homes or other sensitive areas to define the Department of Telecommunications. Again, sites located at a distance less than four times the height of the tower of the boundaries of these establishments, with a minimum of 50 feet away, unless they are towers that these compounds need.
The vote was 102-2 in favor of the bill, with five abstentions. During the voting, only members of the PPD rejected the initiative, which in their opinion does not solve the problem of existing antennas. Deputy Marcos Espinosa said he was pleased that congress has reached agreement, adding that Chileans may feel more secure with higher requirements for installation.
The chairman of the Committee on Transport and Telecommunications, Gustavo Hasbún (UDI), emphasized that the initiative will regulate a matter in which “there were many loopholes” at present. He added that it will be possible to identify saturated zones and sensitive areas, and in the case of saturated obviously not be able to be more than two support towers cell towers per zone about 100 meters (about 330 feet) around.
Deputy Leopoldo Perez (RN), a member of the committee on transport and telecommunications, said that the law seeks to reduce the number of towers, not antennas.
In contrast, PPD Deputies Patricio Hales and Rodrigo Gonzalez rejected the initiative, arguing that it “embodies all antennas installed, and today people are hurting.”
When Chile’s senate introduced the bill, the president of the Mobile Telephone Association noted the concerns of some operators.
One of the most controversial points is the restriction prohibiting the installation of base stations within three blocks of hospitals and schools and the compensation to communities for towers higher than 12 meters, which would be equal to 30% of the tower’s value. Telecoms say it is necessary to maintain 18-meter (nearly 60 feet) towers.
“Several operators don’t see this bill as positive because it is creating a lot of restriction to install sites,” Sebastian Cabello, director of GSMA for Latin America, told RCR Wireless News. In his opinion, the proposal’s rules for sharing infrastructure are a positive.
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