Company backs tall phone masts for city

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Thursday, 29 December 2022 08:35

By Gavin McEwan - Local Democracy Reporter

The company behind recently rejected efforts to install new 5G telecoms masts in Hereford has explained why they have to be so tall.

Within the last month, a bid by CK Hutchison Networks, which operates the Three mobile network in the UK, to install a 20m-high 5G mast by Roman Road was rejected by Herefordshire Council on grounds of its intrusive height, while an appeal against an earlier refusal by the council of a similar mast by the city police station was also dismissed.

A Three spokesperson explained that 5G (“fifth generation”) uses slightly shorter-wavelength signals than previous 2, 3 and 4G networks, and these do not travel as far or pass into buildings as easily.

“For these reasons, 5G antennae need greater height to travel over trees and buildings,” she said.

Twenty metres is taller than a six-storey building, yet there are few buildings of this height in the city.

“We want to offer the community in Herefordshire a reliable network experience and a site in this location is critical to making that happen,” she added.

“While we try to keep mast sites as unobtrusive as possible, they need to be situated where people will be using the service and, in many cases, in precise locations to ensure the widest breadth of coverage.”

The company was given permission back in June for a smaller 16-metre 5G mast on Whitecross Road near the White Cross roundabout.

All four major UK mobile networks have launched 5G services, while 5G-ready devices are already available.

Regulator Ofcom says the connectivity and capacity offered by the technology “is opening up the potential for new, innovative services” as well as speeding up existing uses.