Vodacom Tower Installation Above my Apartment

[brettdavidsteele]

Hi all,

I was hoping to get some advice from the community from those in the know regarding legalities of cellphone towers and their installation with proximity to people etc.

I live in Pretoria and the rental company that owns the block of flats where I live has decided to go ahead and install some sort of Vodacom cellphone booster / tower above my flat. (I don't know the specifics as no effort has been made to communicate with residents about the construction.)

My flat is on the 5th floor and they are literally installing the equipment on my "roof". I have read various reports about the harmful effects of cellphone radiation, although there seems to be no official consensus on findings. Some people claim cellphone signals are terrible for our health, and others seem to think there is no danger due to the size of the waves.

I still however don't feel comfortable living in such proximity to these sorts of high power antennae, regardless of their direction or strength.

Could anyone please shed some light on the legal requirements of such an installation?

As I mentioned before, the rental company made no effort to inform the residents of their plans for the installation. I also work from home so I have had a week of drilling and banging and general construction sounds to deal with right about my home office. Needless to say I'm not impressed!

I do understand as a tenant here I don't have any real say on what they do with their property, but I would like to make sure that everything has been approved by the relevant institutions that govern this sort of thing, and that everything has been handled in an above board kind of way. Would the licensing have to come from ICASA?

Any ideas, advice or views would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Regards
Brett

 

[VC-1]

Brett
All your concerns are null and void. The radiation from the stone/rocks that have baked in the hot Karoo sun radiant more than these radio transmitters. The media hype around these matters are ALWAYS blown out proportions which includes the scientific facts.
Do not worry stay in your flat and relax with a tall beer/whisky on ice/glass of cape wine.

 

[brettdavidsteele]

Thanks for your post I do enjoy a nice cold glass of radiation once in a while!

 

[AntennaMan]

You really don't have anything to worry about.

The scaremongers will talk about the radiation hazard, but they are misrepresenting the facts (as usual).

Radio frequency will emit non-ionizing radiation. This means that there is not enough energy to strip ions from atoms and it can't damage humans cells/dna. In contrast, X-rays and other sources of ionizing radiation will strip ions from atoms of the medium through which it moves. There is a reason the dentist gives you a lead vest when taking x-rays of your head. Ionizing radiation is the stuff you need to stay away from.

The only possible effect that microwave / rf radiation holds is that it can heat up stuff that is too close to it. This is exactly what happens inside a microwave oven. Same type of energy, same frequency, much higher power. A microwave oven works at 2.4 GHz (same as wifi), but puts out 1000 - 2000 W. In contrast, cellphones work in the 850 - 2300 MHz range and the towers only put out 30 to 40 W (less than an incandescent light bulb!).

The other thing to consider is that ultra high frequency signals (the type coming from cellphone towers) will lose a lot of its energy very quickly. If you are standing 5 meters away from a 40 W transmitter, something like 0.01 W will reach you. It really is quite ridiculous how much energy is attenuated.

The big problem is not cellphone towers, but a lack of cellphone towers. When a cellphone is in a region with poor signal, it will boost its own circuitry. It can usually go up to 4 W, this is why cellphones get hot. And we all carry our phones in our pockets. Therefore in poor signal areas, you are carrying a 4 W transmitter next to your crotch. Rather take the cellphone tower and save your crotch.

 

[mr_norris]

I would enjoy the great reception

 

[brettdavidsteele]

You really don't have anything to worry about.

The scaremongers will talk about the radiation hazard, but they are misrepresenting the facts (as usual).

Radio frequency will emit non-ionizing radiation. This means that there is not enough energy to strip ions from atoms and it can't damage humans cells/dna. In contrast, X-rays and other sources of ionizing radiation will strip ions from atoms of the medium through which it moves. There is a reason the dentist gives you a lead vest when taking x-rays of your head. Ionizing radiation is the stuff you need to stay away from.

The only possible effect that microwave / rf radiation holds is that it can heat up stuff that is too close to it. This is exactly what happens inside a microwave oven. Same type of energy, same frequency, much higher power. A microwave oven works at 2.4 GHz (same as wifi), but puts out 1000 - 2000 W. In contrast, cellphones work in the 850 - 2300 MHz range and the towers only put out 30 to 40 W (less than an incandescent light bulb!).

The other thing to consider is that ultra high frequency signals (the type coming from cellphone towers) will lose a lot of its energy very quickly. If you are standing 5 meters away from a 40 W transmitter, something like 0.01 W will reach you. It really is quite ridiculous how much energy is attenuated.

The big problem is not cellphone towers, but a lack of cellphone towers. When a cellphone is in a region with poor signal, it will boost its own circuitry. It can usually go up to 4 W, this is why cellphones get hot. And we all carry our phones in our pockets. Therefore in poor signal areas, you are carrying a 4 W transmitter next to your crotch. Rather take the cellphone tower and save your crotch.

Thanks for the in depth analysis! The antennae is literally 5m away from my bed, hence why I was a little apprehensive about it all.

I have read up a fair amount on it all over the past few days and I'm possibly over reacting. The antennae seem to also be quite directional, so this helps put my mind at a ease a little more. Still not happy about the way the rental company have handled things.

Thanks again!
Brett