Melissa Hargraves
Lismore City Council’s (LCC) endorsement of two NBN fixed-wireless base stations is a sell-out of the community, according to its Greens councillor, who believes it is a cheap option using second-rate technology.
Last night Council voted to lease a portion of Council-owned land to establish NBN radio base stations for wireless broadband at quarry sites in Jiggi and Blakebrook.
Greens Cr Vanessa Ekins voted against the move.
Council reports indicated that NBN Co ‘undertook sufficient public consultation’ and had ‘addressed any public concerns’.
Cr Ekins’s primary objection to the 40-metre-high microwave towers is their second-rate technology.
‘What we really need is fibre optic to the home; we are not even getting that in Lismore,’ she said.
‘These towers are neither healthy nor sustainable and they cost a fortune to run in electricity every year.’
According to Cr Ekins, ‘Ericsson said they only had a few [people] against the towers during the public consultation.’
‘People’s demand for internet access increases all the time. I am sure these people would choose fibre optic technology if it were available.’
‘The demand on these towers will keep increasing and they will not be able to meet it. They will need more towers… we should be getting fibre optics in the ground in the first place. It costs more initially but it is better for us, more sustainable and a long-term solution.’
Cr Ekins is concerned about the growing impact of high-frequency electromagnetic radiation.
‘Although these towers will be in quarries, there are still 90 homes around each of the proposed sites,’ she said.
Cr Ekins entertained the chamber with an exhibition of ‘electrosmog’ detection.
Electrosmog is the invisible ‘pulsing’ wave emission that is given off by mobile phones, cell towers, cordless phones, microwave ovens, computer screens, routers, music players, baby monitors, wireless alarms, wireless PCs and PDAs – and even lamps and electrical wiring.
The smog meter she brought in highlighted the high levels present in the chambers.
‘From my readings this is a toxic work environment. It might be okay for us over a six-hour period but people who are living near the towers will be subject to it all the time,’ she said.
Cr Ekins wanted to raise the awareness of invisible radiation as she said it ‘causes harm to our bodies’.
The solution to ridding the electromagnetism from your body, according to Cr Ekins, is to ‘walk on the earth in your bare feet and hug a tree. It actually helps Earth us as we are electrical bodies.’
From day one this region was never going to get fibre under Labors NBN plan, wireless is better than nothing and the technology is gaining faster speeds all the time an South Korea will be rolling out 5G in 2017 http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/digital-life-news/south-korea-to-spend-17-billion-on-5g-movieinasecond-mobile-broadband-20140123-319u6.html.
Whenever there is a report out to say something is bad for you there is a report to say it won’t harm you as in todays SMH.
http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/mobiles/mobile-radio-waves-harmless-study-finds-20140212-32gk9.html
It is funny how all the people against everything still use modern technology, wireless phones, mobile phones, wireless internet, satellite internet, coal powered electricity to power the house, microwave ovens to cook, motor cars (petrol, diesel, LPG) to protest about anything against our town.
As for your signal strength meter, eg:electrosmog detector, I could build the same thing to detect radio frequencies and call it anything and scare up some hysteria and walk around with tinfoil wrapped around my head to stop “radio waves” blasting my brain.
I for one would love to see high speed wireless around this area.
Of course you would love to see more high speed wireless in your area Cietus – as would most people. But this only proves one thing, that you … haven’t taken the effort, as Cr Ekins has, to research the issue fully. Google or Youtube Barrie Trower to get the facts.
For your information, I oppose wireless technology and do not use mobile phones or WiFi internet, satellite, cordless phones or microwave ovens. I live in a 100% solar powered house and access the internet via dialup (since there is no cabled ADSL option where I live). There are no options for petrol-free cars at this time but I only drive once a week.
Good on Cr Ekins for standing up for people’s health and the environment! The rest of you who love WiFi are fast asleep.
The same Cr most likely supports 100’s of expensive/pulsating/motionless wind turbines blotting out the horizon
Barefoot and hugging a tree explains it all.
Cr Ekins should be congratulated for her stance. The NBN wireless towers are truly a 3rd rate technology that could barely be called a broadband solution. Signals are seriously weakened as soon as a few people get online at once. Trees inbetween you and the tower also reduce reception. Meanwhile people are blanketed with an electro-smog of radio frequency waves that are deemed possible carcinogens by the World Health Organisation, alongside lead and DDT. Their only benefit – government gets brownie points, when they are just not good enough. By the way, I have never owned or used a mobile phone nor wireless anything and never ever want to, because I have chosen to be healthy and unstressed.