Connecting Canadians:
Wireless Antenna Towers Siting in Canada

Building a New Tower

Connecting Canadians:
Wireless Antenna Towers Siting in Canada

Wireless networks rely on base station antennas to operate. As communities demand new or improved wireless service, local carriers respond to this need by installing new network equipment. Often this requires building a wireless antenna structure, commonly called a “tower.” In addition to meeting the needs of individual Canadian consumers, improved cellular coverage means better access to emergency services such as fire, police, or ambulance, and business development opportunities as corporate services are enhanced.

The erection of an antenna structure may raise concerns in a community about aesthetics, or about the safety of exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields from towers. This brochure provides basic information about the rigorous procedures used to select a site and build a tower, and answers some key questions about health and safety issues. For more thorough information, consult the resources section at the end of this guide.

Building a New Tower
Why a New Tower?

Wireless carriers continue to build and expand their networks in response to the tremendous consumer demand for their services. Today, more than 20 million Canadians have a mobile phone or wireless device, a number that is growing by 10% annually. People often take the availability of wireless service for granted and expect that their service provider will provide coverage anywhere and everywhere they live, work or play. Indications are that this demand will continue to grow as Canadians’ reliance on wireless communications at home and in the workplace increases. Indeed, the wireless communications products and services, used daily by police, EMS, firefighters and other first responders, are an integral part of Canada’s safety infrastructure.

Every year, Canada’s wireless carriers spend over $1 billion in capital improvements to their networks and have cumulatively invested over $20 billion to date in building Canada’s world-class wireless infrastructure.

A large portion of this investment is spent improving network availability, both in terms of coverage and capacity. Network coverage consists of extending the reach of the network to new areas as well as eliminating the so-called “dead zones” — areas where cellular coverage breaks off. Increasing capacity allows more users within the existing footprint of the network and provides faster transmission speeds for wireless data services.

Radio antennas, associated equipment and supporting structures are fundamental components of a radiocommunication system. Without them, none of the services that Canadian individuals, businesses and governments have come to depend would exist.

Across Canada, there are approximately 8,000 cellular/PCS antenna sites. For comparison purposes, the United Kingdom, in an area less than 1/5 of Canada’s coverage area, has approximately 35,000 sites.

The Site Selection Process

When a requirement for a new site has been identified, the wireless carrier begins evaluating the options in an area based on radio frequency characteristics. These frequency characteristics are influenced by: the local terrain, existing structures, the number of subscribers, distance from existing sites, the availability of existing structures (buildings, other towers, etc.), and the availability of a willing landlord.

The first step is to look for existing structures such as building rooftops, water towers, hydro corridors, or towers belonging to other carriers or other utilities. Such sites are considerably more cost effective and the time to service is reduced. The use of existing structures generally results in a smaller impact on local surroundings. However, finding an existing structure with the suitable location or height may not always be possible. Around 40% of the cellular/PCS sites in Canada are located on structures other than purpose-built towers.

Co-locating on existing towers may reduce the number of new towers, but co-location may also result in the need for taller, more visible towers to accommodate additional antennas. Some municipalities actually prefer smaller, individual towers to one massive, but collocated tower. Service providers have also employed infrastructure sharing agreements to reduce the need for additional sites. When all of these strategies are considered, approximately 60% of all cell sites in Canada are shared in one way or another. Sites are only selected after thorough analysis of expected coverage outcomes based on field measurements and predictions combined with customer requirements. Upon selecting a preferred site, a carrier will begin the approval process.

The Antenna Approval Process
Jurisdiction

Any discussion of tower approval procedures requires an understanding of the jurisdictional issues and the facts upon which jurisdiction is based. Canada’s federal government has exclusive and comprehensive jurisdiction over the area of radiocommunication and telecommunications. The Privy Council determined in its decision re Regulation and Control of Radio-Communications in Canada that the Parliament of Canada has exclusive jurisdiction to regulate and control radiocommunication. Provincial Courts of Appeal (such as British Columbia and Ontario) have followed the Privy Council’s decision without reservation. National jurisdiction over telecommunications, including the authorization of radiocommunication facilities, is a common characteristic of the regulatory structures of all countries having advanced radiocommunication networks.

Industry Canada is responsible for regulating radiocommunication in Canada including authorizing the installation of radiocommunication towers and sites. This authority is derived from the Department of Industry Act, which describes the powers and duties of the department and the minister, and the Radiocommunication Act, which specifically provides the authority to approve antenna supporting structures. Indeed, the most recent authoritative review of Industry Canada’s policies governing the siting of radiocommunications facilities, i.e. the 2004 Townsend report, recommended that the legislative authority to regulate tower sites “should remain exclusively with the Government of Canada.”

Regulations Governing Wireless Antenna Siting

Industry Canada’s procedures for constructing and installing antenna structures are covered in a Client Procedure Circular entitled Radiocommunication and Broadcasting Antenna Systems. These rules apply to all radio systems. For cellular/PCS service providers, compliance with these procedures is required as a condition of licence.

In exercising its authority, Industry Canada makes use of the input and expertise of federal departments and agencies. To ensure the environment is not harmed, antenna structures must conform to the requirements of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. The design and construction of antenna sites are subject to the National Building Code. To ensure the safety of air navigation, antenna proponents must comply with Transport Canada’s antenna structure clearance rules and procedures. Similarly, wireless carriers rigidly adhere to Health Canada’s Safety Code 6, which specifies the limits of human exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields.

Local Land-Use Authorities

As a result of the federal jurisdiction of telecommunications operations, traditional municipal land-use planning controls such as zoning by-laws, site-plan control, development approvals, and Building Code requirements are rendered inoperative to the extent that they affect or interfere with the siting, physical location, design, construction and operation of federal undertakings such as cellular/PCS carriers. In other words, the prohibition, restriction or regulation of land for its use as a wireless telecommunications facility would not be the authority of the Land-Use Authority.

Nonetheless, Industry Canada requires anyone who is planning to install or modify an antenna system that doesn’t meet certain criteria to consult with the local land-use authority and/or local public where appropriate. Industry Canada generally considers that once a participating land-use authority is contacted, the consultation process should be concluded within 120 days.

For the vast majority of cases, the procedures and processes in place have worked well in meeting the needs of communities, individuals, wireless carriers and their subscribers.

Health and Safety Issues
Electromagnetic Waves and Fields

One of the most volatile issues related to antenna sites is the potential effect they may have on human health due to the electromagnetic energy that antennas emit. Wireless devices emit and receive non-ionizing electromagnetic waves at frequencies below those of the visible light portion of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Waves at frequencies above those of visible light are of the ionizing type such as gamma and X-rays, which can be potentially harmful to humans. Electromagnetic waves are a form of energy that consists of time-varying electric and magnetic fields (EMFs). Electric fields are produced by forces of electric charges, and magnetic fields are produced when electric charges are in motion. When an appliance is plugged in, an electric field is produced around the appliance; when the appliance is turned on and the electrical current is flowing, a magnetic field is produced.

Electromagnetic radiation is all around us. The principal natural source of electromagnetic radiation on earth is the sun. Natural electromagnetic energy (i.e. sunlight) is necessary for photosynthesis in plants. Since electricity was introduced to our cities and homes more than a century ago, man-made sources have accounted for most of the electromagnetic radiation in our environment. Anything that uses electricity to operate, including everyday household electrical devices such as hair dryers, electrical ovens, fluorescent lights, microwave ovens, stereos and computers emit EMFs of varying intensities.

Mobile phones and the base stations that form mobile phone networks, just like all radio systems, function because they are able to send, receive and manipulate radiofrequency (RF) EMFs. Studies have shown that cellular/PCS emissions represent less than 25% of the ambient RF emissions in an urban area.

In 2002, Industry Canada conducted a study examining the level of RF fields in the City of Toronto, where the highest concentration of radio systems exists in Canada. The study took measurements at 61 locations around the city and found that on average, ambient RF field levels are 0.14% of the exposure limits specified in Health Canada’s Safety Code 6 (705 times less). The study also found that cellular/PCS transmissions represented only 9% to 24% of measured RF energy.

In 2003, the Radiation Protection Services branch of the Environmental Health Division of the BC Centre for Disease Control conducted measurements of RF fields in 21 communities in British Columbia. These measurements found that the maximum level of exposure measured for any of the locations was 3000 times lower than the limits specified in Health Canada’s Safety Code 6. The study also reported that many of the measurements had power densities of 1 million times below the exposure limits.

Similarly, Health Canada conducted measurements of ground level emissions near cellular base-station installations in the City of Ottawa. Results of those measurements showed that worst-case exposure levels are typically thousands of times below the recommended exposure limits in Safety Code 6.

Jurisdiction over Health and Safety of Antenna Installations

To ensure that RF exposures to the Canadian public fall within acceptable safety guidelines, Industry Canada, the federal regulator responsible for the approval of RF equipment and performing compliance assessments, has chosen Health Canada’s Safety Code 6 as their exposure standard. Even though the exposure limits in Safety Code 6 are used in Industry Canada’s radiocommunication and broadcasting regulations, it should be noted that Health Canada has no regulatory role in the licensing, siting and compliance of radiocommunication and broadcast transmitters. In the area of the safety of these devices, Health Canada acts primarily as the principal health advisor to Industry Canada.

Other Health Canada activities in the electromagnetic area include:

• developing guidelines for the protection of the general public and workers from exposure to EMFs.
• conducting research in the assessment of EMF exposure levels in residential and workplace environments.
• conducting laboratory studies and monitoring external research on the biological effects of EMFs.
• setting regulations for the safe use of microwave ovens and enforcing their compliance.
• advising government departments and agencies, industry, and the general public on exposure to EMFs.

Antenna Tower Information Resources

Industry Canada: Antenna Towers in Your Community: Frequently Asked Questions (in support of CPC-2-0-03 - Radiocommunication and Broadcasting Antenna Systems)
http://www.ic.gc.ca/epic/site/smt-gst.nsf/en/sf08788e.html

Health Canada and Industry Canada FAQ on Radio Frequency Fields – Frequently Asked Questions
http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/site/smt-gst.nsf/en/sf08792e.html

Health Canada; Safety Code 6 – Limits of Human Exposure to Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Fields in the Frequency Range from 3 kHz to 300 GHz.
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ewh-semt/pubs/radiation/99ehd-dhm237/index_e.html

Health Canada: Information about base stations
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ewh-semt/radiation/cons/stations/index_e.html

RFcom.ca operated by the University of Ottawa McLaughlin Centre for Population Health Risk Assessment
A valuable source of information on the state of the science around the health effects of EMF. This Internet-based information resource managed by an independent Science Panel that reviews and reports on the most recent research studies about wireless technology and health from around the world. It includes a primer on electromagnetic frequencies, wireless phones and an up-to-date bibliography of scientific journal articles on the health effects of EMF.
http://www.rfcom.ca

World Health Organization
The WHO EMF Project provides information about electro-magnetic fields, including potential health effects of exposure.
http://www.who.int/peh-emf/en/