Indian telco base stations exceed radiation norms, ordered to close

Base stations owned by seven Indian telcos have been found to exceed radiation norms and will be forced to close down, says the Department of Telecomunications (Dot) of India.

In a press statement Thursday, the DoT said it conducted a random verification of compliance at a few base station sites in Mumbai on Wednesday. It found that more than 11 base stations exceeded the new electro magnetic radiations standard for mobile tower.

The base stations were owned by Reliance Communications, TTML, Airtel, Vodaphone, Idea Cellular, Aircel and Loop Telecom, the report said.

DoT has ordered the telcos to stop operating the base stations immediately. The cell towers will be allowed to operate only when the sites are made compliant and the compliance is verified by Telecom Enforcement, Resource and Monitoring (TERM) Cells Mumbai.

The telecom authority said it has instructed all telecom operators to make sure that their base stations comply with the latest radiation norms and to close down those that do not comply or face legal action.

India's radiation regulations came into effect on Sep. 1. Announced in April, the new regulation aimed to the radiation level to one-tenth of the previous permissible level of 4,500 milliwatts per square meter.