Last update - 00:00 17/07/2007
Committee rejects bill limiting locations of cellular antennas
By Eran Gabai, Haaretz Correspondent
A ministerial committee on Monday rejected a bill that would have required cellular companies to ask permission to set-up small antennas and inform the public of the construction of new transmission facilities.
The panel decided to abide by the Ministry of Communication's recommendation to continue the current policy of exempting cellular companies from paying for putting up limited-sized antennas.
A group calling for legal reforms over cellular companies said it would file within days a petition with the High Court over the bill.
The organization head, Avi Dabush, said "the government has decisively failed to stand by its citizens against the rich. There is no sense in differentiating small antennas from others that require building permits, and the approval of local city planning councils. These antennas emit radiation...just like any other."
In recent years, fears over the suspected cancerous effects of cellular antennas have been raised, prompting some residents to fight against placing antennas in their neighborhoods.
Cellular companies often set-up such transmission facilities in apartment buildings without asking for permission or informing neighbors.