Yesterday, senior officials at the Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority (BOCRA) said urban and rural councils, as well as land boards were among key approving authorities for the installation of cellphone masts, base stations and other infrastructure.However, as the country's teledensity has exploded over the years to the current estimate of two cellphone subscriptions per person in Botswana, approving authorities have raised various concerns on the rapid rollout of cellphone masts and other infrastructure."Operators have had their applications rejected, faced delays and even had withdrawals of permissions to build due largely to perceived harmful effects of cellphone masts," BOCRA compliance and monitoring director Godfrey Radijeng told a workshop yesterday.
"In many cases, land owners have said their rejections are out of fear of harmful radiation, for instance, exposure to students in the case of schools. There have been requests for removal of masts for fear of radiation as well as aesthetics."A BOCRA policy document states that before the advent of mobile phone technology in Botswana, masts existed for broadcasting and radio communication and were few and far between."(Today) in addition to the cellular communication masts, there are other communication infrastructure belonging to telecommunications services, broadcasting stations, meteorological services, aviation services and law enforcement and security agencies. All in totality have led to the congestion of this infrastructure which in planning terms is viewed as aesthetically unappealing," the document reads.
