Vol. 403 No. 1
168 Mr. McCartan asked the Minister for Communications if his attention has been drawn to the fact that opinions being issued by his Department for planning purposes are contrary to the guidelines laid down in the booklet MMDS, The Dawn of a New Era in Television Reception with particular reference to the tower heights of transmitters, if the standard height of 30 metres or almost 100 feet still stands; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The booklet on MMDS published by my Department is a general guide to MMDS. It is not a technical specification. The reference to tower heights in the booklet is a generalisation based on the expectation that operators would seek to maximise the coverage of transmitters by siting them as high as possible.
There is no minimum tower height specified in my Department's technical condition for the operation of MMDS systems. Operators are required to observe the guidelines on exposure to radio frequency radiation drawn up by the International Non-Ionising Radiation Committee of the International Radiation Protection Association (IRPA). A tower height of less than 100 feet would not necessarily conflict with the IRPA guidelines. This fact, not an opinion, has been conveyed to MMDS operators or their agents by my Department on a number of occasions.
