Community

Mobile technology is based on low-powered radio technology that has been used for over 100 years for a range of everyday services like AM and FM radio; television broadcasting; taxi, truck and marine radios; cordless phones; radio-controlled toys and baby monitors; and more recently, wireless broadband.

Compared to television and radio transmitters, telecommunications equipment uses very low powered signals. It uses just enough radio signal to maintain connections with devices within the area the site covers.

Cell sites need to be located as close as possible to where people want to use their mobile devices. That way both the antennas and the devices will be using the lowest levels of power needed to maintain a connection, and therefore produce the lowest amount of radio frequency emissions. This helps minimise exposure levels and improves mobile device efficiency.

Your wireless device operates by sending and receiving radio signals via the antenna that sits at the top of the cell tower or building. For a mobile network to efficiently deliver the coverage and speed that people demand, the cell site needs to be located as close as possible to where people want to use their devices. Because of this, you will notice more and more telecommunications equipment in your communities.

Mobile Network Operators place a great deal of importance on where they locate new cell sites. Considerations include improving coverage and capacity for the area to ensure that mobile users can make calls and download data without the network service dropping off or slowing down.

There are many considerations when planning a cell site. These include district planning rules; safety standards; avoiding interference with other cell sites, multi-storey buildings and geographical terrain such as the location of hills and trees; and ensuring there are services such as power and fibre backhaul available.

Mobile network operators identify areas where coverage and capacity improvements are required on their network. Radio frequency engineers then establish a search ring for where a new cell site needs to be located.

Our site acquisition team then work with resource planning and property experts to identify the best location within the search area. We also talk to the local council to share our plans and ensure our location is the best available to us.

Telecommunications infrastructure can be built without public consultation under the National Environmental Standards for Telecommunication Facilities Regulation 2016 (NESTF).

However, we want to be a welcome neighbour and effective partner in enhancing the digital connectivity for every community, so along with other network operators and tower companies, we have adopted the Community Engagement Guidelines as set out by the Telecommunications Carriers Forum. As part of this, we share our plans with nearby residential properties and provide information to help educate the community on what’s involved. You can read the guidelines here.

In addition to what’s set out in the guidelines, we also engage with local councils to ensure we identify the best locations available to us.

Where possible we also share information with elected representatives of communities. They usually have their own channels for sharing information with the wider community and act as a conduit for providing feedback about our plans.

In 2016, the government introduced the National Environmental Standards for Telecommunication Facilities Regulation 2016 (NESTF), made under the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA). The NESTF provides a national planning framework that allows network operators and tower companies to install a wide range of low impact telecommunications infrastructure, such as cell sites, in road reserves without the need to apply for resource consent, provided they meet certain conditions.

Where a cell site deployment is not covered by the NESTF then the provisions of the underlying district plan prevail, with the exception of radio frequency emissions which are regulated through the NESTF.

Cell sites are controlled by the provisions of each council’s district plan and regulated by the National Environmental Standards for Telecommunication Facilities Regulation 2016 (NESTF).

The NESTF provides a national framework of rules for the deployment of telecommunications infrastructure. It allows network operators and tower companies to install a wide range of low impact telecommunications infrastructure, such as cell sites, without the need to apply for resource consent, provided they meet certain conditions.

Under NESTF standards, as long as companies meet the standards and also comply with the relevant district plan rules, they are able to determine where cell sites are erected – including on public road reserves owned by councils, in both urban and rural areas.  Towers can also be built on private land if the landowner agrees.

The other aspect is who controls radio frequency (RF) emissions. This sits with central government, through the Ministry of Health, and the NZ Standard 2772 for RF emissions, and is implemented through the NESTF.

The new cell site must meet specified conditions around size, location and noise as stipulated by the council’s district plan. In the event the new cell site doesn’t meet specified conditions and a resource consent is required, council staff will consider the effects relating to the rule breach(es). Councils also monitor the conditions of the resource consent to ensure on-going compliance.

The National Environmental Standards for Telecommunication Facilities Regulation 2016 (NESTF) includes controls around radiofrequency emissions from cell sites. The New Zealand exposure standard NZS 2772.1172 is designed to limit public exposures to levels at least 50 times below those at which harm might occur.

You can find out more about the standards here.

Mobile technologies including 3G, 4G and 5G all operate well within the safety limits set out by international guidelines and strict safety standards set by New Zealand’s Ministry of Heath, which incorporate substantial safety margins to deliver protection for everyone against health risks.

All radio frequency fields, including those used by mobile phones (3G, 4G, 5G), AM/FM radio, WiFi and televisions are non-ionizing waves. This means that they don’t carry enough energy to alter the structure of a human cell/damage our DNA.

Internationally, the independent World Health Organisation (WHO) monitors electromagnetic frequencies (EMF). They conclude there is no evidence from the decades and thousands of scientific studies undertaken to date that EMFs, including the frequencies used for 5G, pose any risk to human health.

In New Zealand, the Interagency Committee on the Health Effects of Non-Ionising Fields monitors research into extremely low frequency electric and magnetic fields, and radiofrequency fields used to provide telecommunications services.  The committee reports to the Director General of Health, and includes representatives from government, industry, academic and consumer groups.  These reviews conclude exposures which comply with current safety standards do not cause harm to health.

In addition, all cell sites are regularly monitored by an independent body here in New Zealand to ensure compliance with the safety standards. All results are provided to and published by the Ministry of Health. Network operators are not informed when the monitoring will take place, and generally have no say in the sites that are selected for monitoring.

You can find out more information about non-ionising radiation here and 5G here.

Mobile users will continue to connect to ground-based mobile networks when they are in range of a cell site. Ground-based cell sites can carry vastly more data and have lower lag (i.e. faster/better responsivity) than satellites, so the primary service will be from the mobile network – particularly as ability to carry more data at ever faster speeds is what’s driving growth in the digital world.

Mobile network operators will continue to invest in upgrading their network, including 4.5/5G upgrade acceleration and 3G switch off.

We are not aware of any research or evidence that suggests property values are affected by cell sites. The regular feedback we receive is that poor coverage and a lack of digital connectivity can put potential buyers off regional locations. Often councils and elected officials want more investment in telecommunications infrastructure to improve connectivity – and the social and economic benefits that come from improved connectivity – for their communities.