Teleoperators (carriers) in Nordic countries (Finland and Sweden) are allowed to shut down landlines and (A)DSL-connections in the countryside. This means that even little children in the countryside are forced to use a) mobile phone and b) wireless Internet connection.
As you probably know, countries in the North are quite...large. So, the distance to the closest base station may be several kilometers. A mobile phone increases it's power extensively, far from a base station. This is already a documented health risk [1],[2],[3],[4]. Additionally, the operators are solving bandwidth problems by adding many overlapping technologies (like UMTS-900, @450, WiMAX). Where is the pure Nordic nature when air is packed with microwave pulses?
The Ministry of Transport and Communication (LVM, T&C), Finland, requested comments to their broadband (laajakaista) plan. I provided them a reply (PDF).
I looked at:
- Health risks of mobile phones
- Effects of base stations on plants, insects and animals
- Effects of base stations on human beings
(The plan is in Finnish, but the references starting at page 2 might be interesting?!?)
In Finland, the government (under pressure) has planned to provide fiber optics network to the whole country by the year 2015. Well, 7 years is a long time for a child to make mobile phone calls with bad reception / limited coverage :-( So, in my proposal I suggested that the fiber optics network should be built first, already in 2009.
According to the original plan of T&C, by the year 2010 the Finnish government tries to cover the whole country with multiple, overlapping wireless networks (@450, UMTS-900, WiMAX). Similar plan is in Sweden. I suggested that they would look closely at health risk in wireless technologies before implementing that plan. Update 16th December 2008: An Overview on Base Stations and Health Risks.
This is also an equality question: which families with children want to live in the countryside any more? (Please, check my previous posting about children and their specific risks).
Afterword: While governments own shares of teleoperators, can those T&C ministers really make informed decisions? Update 23rd November 2008: These politicians are effectively misled .
Finland and Sweden have lot to learn from Norway [1],[2], [3],[4],[5]. Currently in Norway, there is a lot of discussion about health risks of mobile phones and ICNIRP guidance levels for base stations. In Finland and Sweden, there is hardly any discussion at all! Any idea, what might be the reason :-\ Please, check those Norwegian links!
Every comment is welcome!
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