Est.2007

Barbados Underground

Bringing News and Opinions to the People

Digicel cell tower rejected by residents

marsha caddle

← Back

Your message to the BLOGMASTER was sent

CONTACT THE BLOGMASTER ONLY

In recent days the plight of residents of Olive Lodge Road, Holder’s Hill has been a topic of concern because of the placement of a DIGICEL cell tower in the locale.

It is reprehensible government’s Telecommunications Unit and the telecommunications company DIGICEL would collaborate to place a cell tower in close proximity to residents without proper consultation in order to assuage concerns. More and more we have been witnessing the encroachment on the rights of citizens by public and private sector entities. It must stop!

Both the Telecommunication Unit and DIGICEL have issued statements in today’s press to explain remedial action taken and to outline next steps, however, residents are adamant Olive Lodge Road is a poor choice of location for the cell tower and it must be relocated.

What is the process that would have led to the cell tower placed in the small neighbourhood of Olive Lodge Road without consultation with residents by DIGICEL and government?

There is enough scientific information published about the possible radiobiological effects of non-ionizing radiation to support at minimum an educational program with resident.

See the following article published in the National Library of Medicine with the title – Radiobiological effects and medical applications of non-ionizing radiation.

Discover more from Barbados Underground

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

66 responses to “Digicel cell tower rejected by residents”

  1. David Avatar
    David

    Another win for citizens, this time the Cyber Bill is coming back to the people for consultation.

    Public to have greater input on Cybercrime Bill

    THE PUBLIC will be able to have greater input on the controversial Cybercrime Bill, says Minister of Industry, Innovation, Science and Technology Marsha Caddle.

    “I do consider it important to have solidarity moving forward. Notwithstanding that the Cybercrime Bill passed the Lower House, when it passed on to the other House, I spoke with the leaders of Government business in both Houses and the Prime Minister and considered that perhaps we needed to pause for the avoidance of doubt and have this legislation go to one of our standing committees,” she said yesterday.

    Caddle was delivering the keynote address during the International Institute of Communications (IIC) Caribbean Chapter’s inaugural meeting held at Baobab Towers in Warrens, St Michael.

    After the bill was introduced, several groups criticised some of its content, arguing that the legislation affected freedom of speech and shielded politicians from censure.

    While acknowledging there were some valid concerns, Caddle said similar to the Trident Identification (ID) cards which also received some pushback, they were trying to ensure Barbadians were protected.

    “The irony is, in the conversation on digital IDs, one of the first questions people asked was, ‘Will my data be protected?’, ‘Are your systems protected?’ but then immediately on bringing the Cybercrime Bill, some said, ‘I think this goes too far to protect my data and systems’.

    “It is not to say that some of these concerns are not legitimate and valid, they are, but we need a balance brought to the dialogue in the public domain,” she said.

    The minister, however, made it clear Government was still confident about the purpose and scope of the bill but was open to feedback and suggestions.

    “We are not in any hurry. I ask that we pause and have the legislation go to the standing committee of Parliament and that we have the consultations that are needed, and that everyone has the opportunity to step forward and to present their concerns. Then sure-footed together, we take the legislation back to the Upper House with any amendments deemed by the committee to be necessary and we go forward together,” she said.

    (TG)


    Source: Nation

  2. Enuff Avatar
    Enuff

    The blogmaster does not understand how DIGICEL could have located a mobile cell tower in a small community without any official permission. What is happening in this country?

    The same way Savvy built a whole vending complex and also refurbished a historic building. Remember that? See why I keep telling you about learning processes before talking?

  3. Enuff Avatar
    Enuff

    “The cell tower SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN INSTALLED before permission was granted.
    IT IS ILLEGAL. It should therefore be IMMEDIATELY removed – pending such permission.”

    This is the same Bushie that backed Savvy doing even wuss? Typical BU intelligentsia, experts in contorted tongues.

  4. David Avatar
    David

    @Enuff

    The blogmaster does not know processes in the same way successive governments didn’t know about the process to produce audited financials at the renamed NISS and the countless breeches and malfeasances noted in decades of Auditor General’s reports.

    The blogmaster also in ignorance notes the Minister of Tourism stated the Savvy on the Bay matter is before the law courts. Perhaps Enuff, in your full knowledge of processes can point us to when that decision was taken.

  5. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    @ Enuff
    “This is the same Bushie that backed Savvy doing even wuss?”
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Perhaps you do not understand some as these issues to the degree that Bushie gives you credit….

    Digicel ONLY applied for P&D permission AFTER residents created Hell for them, in a manner that has so far, been TOTALLY uncharacteristic for Brass.

    Do you REALLY think that Digicel were IGNORANT of the LAW? …after having dozens of such installations in Barbados?

    In the case of Savvy
    It is OBVIOUS that this was a political SETUP that was designed to hand this PUBLIC property to SELECTED new private owners …at a fire-sale price.

    The SCAM did not go as plotted… and now your party is seeking to ensure that the ‘spoils’ fall into more politically correct hands…

    Chalk and cheese!!

    ALSO, if you check the current legislation, you will find that once an application is with P&D for MORE than a specific period ( as was the SAVVY application), then that application is automatically APPROVED…
    ONLY SPITE and political shenanigans prevented planning permission being adjudicated…

  6. Enuff Avatar
    Enuff

    Bushtea
    You’re either legal or illegal! But since you want to argue chalk and cheese, which I reject, a cell tower on wheels vs the renovation of a historic building and construction of a full vending village. Contorted tongue. You can conflate and obfuscate as usual.

    David
    Every time I demonstrate your errors refer to NIS financials. I remember when IL legislation formed part of your always futile comeback attempts. Fact remains that you supported Savvy’s big able development without petmission, now all verklempt and clutching pearls at Digicel. Ain’t y’all argue Savvy is temporary trucks on wheels? Well Digicel is a temporary tower on wheels? Both illegal, both wrong.

  7. David Avatar
    David

    @Enuff

    You can’t be so naive to believe every thing is a zero sum game. Especially when it comes to politics. Tell that to Mia when she puffing on those West Coast patios.

  8. BAJE Avatar
    BAJE

    DIGICEL IS MISSING THE WHEELER AND DEALER ALEX TASKER WHO WHEN HE WAS A MANAGER THERE DID ALL THE GREASING OF GOVERNMENT WHEELS WITH KICKBACKS AND NOW FACING EXTRADITION FOR HIS BRIBERY OF DONVILLE INNISS.

    I WILL NEVER FORGET HAVING A MEETING WITH ALEX TASKER AND A FORMER WHITE CEO OF DIGICEL I MET PLAYING AT A GOLF TOURNAMENT AT APES HILL A MEETING AT THEIR HEAD OFFICE IN CHRIST CHURCH.

    IT WAS OBVIOUS TO ME DURING THAT MEETING ALEX TASKER WAS A HOUSE SLAVE AND NOT TO BE TRUSTED.

  9. David Avatar
    David

    The came, they disrupted a small community by inserting a mobile cell tower without consultation and now they are gone. This is an embarrassment for relevant government parties first and foremost. Digicel failed as part of its duty as a responsible corporate citizen.

    Cell tower going

    Digicel to remove it by March 20

    by MARIA BRADSHAW mariabradshaw@nationnews.com

    BY MARCH 20, the Digicel erected cell tower at Olive Lodge Road, Holder’s Hill, St James, will be removed.

    The decision was communicated yesterday to residents by the telecommunications company following three weeks of their persistent public outcry in the small, close-knit community, after Digicel erected the tower without notifying them.

    Resident Dr Jennifer Obiyah-Alleyne said that she received a call yesterday evening from Natalie Abrahams, chief executive officer of the company.

    “I am pleased to let you know that I just had a call from the CEO of Digicel, Natalie Abrahams, and she said the tower would be gone on or before March 20,” Alleyne told the DAILY NATION. The decision staved off a public protest which was being planned for next week outside the Prime Minister’s office.

    Digicel erected the tower on January 18, on a vacant plot of land in the community in an effort to provide greater connectivity to the St James areas. However, residents complained that they were never informed about the tower; that it was too close to their homes and that a generator which was previously attached was not only a noise nuisance but was emitting fumes which were affecting some residents.

    It was later discovered that Digicel did not have permission from the Town Planning Department and the Barbados Telecommunications Unit to erect the tower there.

    While Alleyne expressed dismay that residents did not get the “apology” from Abrahams, she said the removal of the tower superseded it.

    “I did not speak to her in terms of offering an apology nor did she offer one but as long as the tower is gone we are fine. We can live without an apology. We want the tower gone,” she insisted.

    When contacted yesterday, even before the residents were informed about the decision, Digicel’s chairman, The Most Honourable Ralph “Bizzy” Williams said they had made a decision to relocate the tower and he lashed out at a certain politico for statements about the company in another section of the press.

    “There is an agreement to move it. I will make an effort to try and get it resolved but I have to know about the problem first because I was out of the island,” Williams said.

    In terms of the politician, he suggested that the person should have “picked up the phone and call me”.

    “It is most unfortunate that the . . . man knew how to pick up the telephone and call me when one of his constituents was threatened by a big tree that was about to fall on their house. He knew how to call me to get this problem solved and I went and solve the problem for him. I took a crane there and a tree specialist and we moved the tree for the man.

    “Now instead of taking up the phone and say, ‘Bizzy we have a little problem here in the community, come and see what you can do about this tower that is affecting people.’ All he had to do was to make one call but instead of doing that he chose to go to the media to lambaste Digicel that only put the tower there to try to improve connectivity to the residents.”

    Williams also highlighted how his company had also assisted Government when the South Coast was polluted with sewage.

    Asked about Digicel not receiving permission to erect the tower, Williams said: “I can’t comment on that because I don’t run Digicel. I didn’t even know that the tower was going to be erected there. It wasn’t something that was discussed at a directors meeting or nothing so.”

    Meanwhile, Alleyne called on residents in other communities to stand up for their rights.

    “This says so much about communities coming together for a cause. We knew that it was a problem the way the cell tower came into our road and we also knew that we had to band together to represent ourselves because no one was going to represent us. Digicel came in very arrogant – no apology no notification, nothing.”


    Source: Nation

  10. Returning National Avatar
    Returning National

    @David, not so fast as the Telecoms Unit jokers refuse to publish the radiation levels and we do not know if the required measurements are currently carried out as required by law. In addition they have not published the data for years as required by law and if the cell towers are transmitting above accepted limits. Non ionizing radiation testing protocols impact on human DNA is very much inclusive as most of the test are sponsored by Telecoms companies and cannot be compared with a home wifi. A cellphone used for a long time stuck to one face is very dangerous as the human body is both biological and electrical. Many do not read the leaflets that comes with their phone that warns of the Specific Absorption Ratio aka SAR which is also dependent on a person body size. Electro Hypersensitivity is real for many persons as we all have different DNA structure. Some may have headaches of a warm buzzing slight discomfort or even blurred vision in extreme cases depending on how long the phone is used stuck on side of head.

  11. David Avatar
    David

    Given the loose approach shown by all government agencies and the telecom involved with this matter, it is unlikely any data that will negatively highlight the deployment of cell towers ever makes the light of day. It is analogous to how both governments have conspired to suppress 11+ results AND indiscretions in the schools.

  12. David Avatar
    David

    Is it unreasonable for citizens to expect its government – elected with a core purpose to operate in the interest of the people – to codify a process in the interest of the people? It is embarrassing to see different government agencies, including Minister Caddle, pointing fingers at other government agencies. Why would Duguid feel he should not disclose locations where telecoms are cosharing? What is the big secret?

    SHARE TOWERS

    Duguid calling on telecommunications companies to cooperate

    By Maria Bradshaw

    mariabradshaw@nationnews.com

    Telecommunications providers are being advised to share cell tower spaces to reduce the erection of the tall imposing antennae towers in residential areas.

    This from Senior Minister Dr William Duguid, who has responsibility for the Planning and Development Department.

    Duguid said telecommunications company Digicel decided to co-share a space with its competitor, Flow Barbados, as it prepares to remove the controversial cell tower equipment from the small Olive Lodge Road, Holders Hill, St James community following demands from incensed residents.

    Compromise

    While not divulging the location, Duguid suggested this was a valid compromise.

    “I am not at liberty to discuss those matters,” he said when asked where the tower would be relocated. “The company is making alternative arrangements. They are joining with Flow. Flow has a tower and Digicel would add on their equipment on the same tower.”

    Duguid said this was not the first time the telecommunications companies would be sharing tower space.

    “As a department we encourage a co-location where both service providers will have their equipment on one tower to reduce the number of towers that are required across Barbados,” he said.

    He reiterated that applications for the erection of cell towers must be submitted to the Planning Department before installation.

    Asked if the department would now insist that telecommunications companies inform communities about the erection of towers in their neighbourhoods as well as undertake environmental impact studies, he pointed out that the application process involved the regulatory agencies determining “whether environmental impacts, including social impact assessment, [are] required or not and they are done by case by case basis”.

    Duguid said there were no complaints from residents about cell towers since he became the minister responsible for the Planning and Development Department three years ago. That department falls under the remit of the Prime Minister’s Office.

    He added that towers could be seen across Barbados’ landscape and “it is not normally an issue”, again encouraging both providers to share tower space.

    Residents of Olive Lodge Road publicly protested the erection of a cell tower by Digicel on a vacant plot of land in the midst of their community. They argued that they were not informed that the tower was being placed there.

    “We just got up on January 18 and saw the tower there,” said community spokesperson Dr Jennifer Obidah-Alleyne, adding that workers on the site refused to tell residents what was going on.

    They said the tower was too close to houses; that Digicel never informed them of the plans to erect it and that they were exposed to fumes and noise pollution from an onsite generator, which was subsequently removed.

    It also angered residents more when they discovered that Digicel had no planning permission to erect the tower.

    Last Wednesday Digicel informed the residents the tower would be relocated by March 20. Digicel’s chief executive officer Natalie Abrahams indicated the tower was erected to provide much needed wider connectivity in St James and surrounding areas.

    She said that due process was followed, adding, “We firmly believe that we have adhered to all necessary processes and guidelines,” she said at the time.

    When contacted by the Sunday Sun Marsha Caddle, Minister of Industry, Innovation, Science and Technology, under which the telecommunications department falls, reiterated that the erection of cell towers “is a matter for the Planning and Development Department in the Prime Minister’s Office”.

    “The Planning and Development Department seeks comment from many agencies for all applications. The Telecommunications Unit is one of the agencies from which they might seek comment when they are considering applications with respect to the erection of cell towers,” she said, adding once again that: “The Planning and Development Department realised no permission was sought and they insisted that Digicel seek planning permission.”

    She noted that the Telecommunications unit measured radio frequency emission to ensure that they were within the prescribed limit.

    A policy document produced by the unit states that: “The minister responsible for telecommunications, through the Telecommunications Unit, has the responsibility of ensuring that all radio frequency (RF) emissions are at a safe level and, therefore, would not endanger the health and safety of the general population of Barbados.

    “Devices such as cell phones, two-way radios, radio and TV broadcast transmitters, communications transmitters and radar transmitters emit RF energy and, therefore, are strictly regulated by the Telecommunications Unit to ensure that the radiation emanating from these transmissions are well within the safety limits.”

    It added: “Non-ionising radiation, the type of radiation emanating from these devices, has insufficient energy to ionise atoms but, if unregulated, may produce enough heat to damage the cells of the body.

    Source: Nation

  13. David Avatar
    David

    Interesting to see the Nation newspaper citing an 18 year old study.

    Study: Radio frequency emissions, no threat

    Eighteen years ago, a study conducted by the Telecommunications Unit in the wake of concerns by Barbadians about radio frequency emission from cell towers found no real threats of radiation emission.

    Entitled Radio-Frequency (RF) Radiation From Cellular Broadcast Radio Antennae Located Throughout Barbados, the study showed that there were 168 free-standing towers and rooftop antennas installed across the island by licenced cellular operators Cable & Wireless now Flow Barbados, Digicel and Cingular.

    In the study the unit noted: “This paper takes into consideration the concerns of Barbadians on the effects of electromagnetic radiation emitting from cell towers located around the island. We hope that this information researched from various concerned institutions around the world will help the understanding of the public and in turn dispel some of the fears surrounding the installation of RF towers and rooftop mounted antennae in Barbados.”

    The unit pointed out that it was assigned the task of inspecting the installations and they were done on an annual basis for free-standing antennae and bi-annually for rooftop antennae.

    It noted: “The consensus of the scientific community, both in the US and internationally, is that the power from these mobile phone base station antennas is far too low to produce health hazards as long as people are kept away from direct access to antennas.”

    The study presented detailed information about radiation protection and measurements.

    “The main effect of radio frequency energy is the heating of tissue. Consequently, exposure guidelines for radio frequency fields and microwaves are set to prevent health effects caused by localised or whole body heating. Compliance with the guidelines will ensure that heating effects are sufficiently small not to be harmful.”

    (MB)

    Source: Nation

  14. David Avatar
    David

    Extracted from the article posted.

    Asked if the department would now insist that telecommunications companies inform communities about the erection of towers in their neighbourhoods as well as undertake environmental impact studies, he pointed out that the application process involved the regulatory agencies determining “whether environmental impacts, including social impact assessment, [are] required or not and they are done by ase by case basis”.

    Duguid said there were no complaints from residents about cell towers since he became the minister responsible for the Planning and Development Department three years ago. That department falls under the remit of the Prime Minister’s Office.

  15. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    “I am not at liberty to discuss those matters,” he said when asked where the tower would be relocated.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Simple!

    The new location is away from communities with enlightened residents who are bold enough to stand up and defend their rights against the albino-centric foreign owned parasites, and the local political Judases on their shady payrolls….

    …there are MULTIPLE such location options available in Brassbados.

  16. David Avatar
    David

    That location that was first selected is probably owned by a friend and f a friend.

The blogmaster invites you to join the discussion.

Trending

Discover more from Barbados Underground

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading