The devices that make up the final part of telecommunications networks using wireless connections, thus by electromagnetic waves, and that provide the connection to the end user or customer, are technically called “access points.”
Numerous and of different types are the technologies used for connections, among which the best known are Wi-Fi and cellular telephony (GSM, UMTS, LTE and 5G), but also many other lesser known ones (LoRa, FWA, etc.) not to mention radio or television broadcasters, or amateur radio, etc.
Each of these facilities or access points, sometimes also called “repeaters” or “radio base stations,” with the exception of TV stations that are usually (but not always) installed in more outdoor locations, is typically installed in an urban setting, i.e., on ground poles or on building decks and roofs, or on the walls of buildings and even inside the homes or offices themselves (as in the case of Wi-Fi or telephone repeaters).
Telephone or telecommunications operators, or similar companies providing telecommunications, are therefore always looking for new and appropriate locations for facilities and antennas that meet certain predefined technical requirements, such as signal coverage capacity, geographic location, etc. Typically, a large proportion of these collocations fall on private or public property, to which a hosting and rental agreement and an associated rent is proposed.
The installation of mobile phone or telecommunications antennas gives rise to a facility that inevitably emits electromagnetic radiation and is intended to operate for many years or decades, and is therefore a choice that should be well thought out preferably with the assistance of experts in the field. Indeed, the most recent studies and the IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer) classify radio frequencies as “possible carcinogens to humans,” and therefore the lowest possible levels of such emissions must be ensured.
It should be borne in mind, in this regard, that current legislation already requires compliance with maximum emission levels, but it is also true that the analyses charged to the operators are conducted only after the lease is signed and therefore after the choice has already been made, they do not take into account the various alternative siting hypotheses, and moreover, they are not easily interpreted by those who are not experts in the field.
Our professional firm, starting from the radioelectric project, thanks to professional and certified software and tools provides an electromagnetic impact analysis, complete with evaluations and measurements of the current state and then the one that will be created with the new antennas, providing specific and tailored advice for each situation. This will allow us to assess, with the help of an independent expert professional, the future exposure and the relative relationship between the level of electromagnetic fields achieved (and its risk) and economic benefits. We also provide, depending on the specific technical evaluations, support to be able to better estimate an appropriate quantification of the rental fee related to radio base stations, which are highly variable depending on the locations, the type of surrounding urban fabric and the strategic nature, for the operator concerned, of the installation being proposed.
Finally, once the installation has taken place, a series of instrumental control measurements can be carried out aimed at ensuring the actual compliance of electromagnetic emissions with both the legal limits and the submitted and predetermined project.