A phone mast at a Keynsham school could be upgraded to 5G to meet future demands for two networks.
A 5G transmitter | Library image
Vodafone and O2, which are pooling their resources as Cornerstone, said Broadlands Academy in St Francis Road was the most suitable site option to improve the service in Keynsham.
Broadlands Bears Nursery is also within 200 metres of the site, which already has a mast standing 17.9 metres high that would be replaced by a 20-metre mast with six antennae, a microwave dish and other equipment.
Recent upgrade proposals locally have sparked scores of objections from residents concerned about the “unknown health risks” of 5G.
Cornerstone has sought to reassure the public and said in its application: “We recognise that the growth in mobile communication has led, in some cases, to public concern about perceived health effects of mobile technology, in particular about siting masts close to local communities.
“Quite naturally, the public seeks reassurance that masts are not in any way harmful or dangerous.
“Cornerstone ensure that our radio base stations are designed and built so that the public are not exposed to radio frequency fields above the guidelines set by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection.
“In fact, radio base stations operate at low power and emit levels of radiofrequency fields many times lower than the ICNIRP general public guidelines.”
It said 5G will offer “immense opportunities, given the faster and more reliable connectivity that it will provide”.
Bath and North East Somerset Council will decide the fate of the application.
Stephen Sumner, Local Democracy Reporter
