Frequently Asked Questions

Why was Sitefinder set up?

Establishing a national database of base stations was a recommendation from the Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones (IEGMP) - also known as the Stewart Group because it was chaired by Sir William Stewart. This expert group was commissioned by the Minister for Public Health in April 1999 to investigated possible hazards posed by mobile phone technology including base stations.

In response to the IEGMP recommendation the Government asked the Radiocommunications Agency (now Ofcom) to set up and manage a national database giving details of all mobile phone base stations and their emissions. The database is an internet based resource and can be accessed at www.sitefinder.ofcom.org.uk.

The Governments response to the IEGMP report can be found http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_4009677

Sitefinder was developed in co-operation with the mobile phone operating companies that voluntarily agreed to the release of the information as provided by Sitefinder.

Following the creation of Ofcom, we have inherited the duties of the Radiocommunications Agency and will be continuing to provide information about base stations as outlined in the Stewart report.

I cant see any base stations on the Sitefinder maps

The base stations will appear as blue pins when the map is zoomed in.

Is Sitefinder compulsory?

Sitefinder was set up by the Government with the voluntary cooperation of the operators. To impose a compulsory scheme would require a legal basis for collecting network data. The process to implement that, for example through a licence variation, would require considerable consultation and legal work to be undertaken.

Can I have a copy of the Sitefinder Database?

The data within Sitefinder is owned by the mobile network operators, who supplied it on a voluntary basis.  It is presented in an agreed format as the underlying data is regarded as commercially and security sensitive. Ofcom does not have the Industry's consent to release either the data or any other derivations from it.

Because of an ongoing legal process arising from a Freedom of Information request, there is uncertainty whether Ofcom may have to disclose the underlying dataset at some point. Meanwhile we are not, therefore, able to supply the underlying dataset to any enquirers.

How up to date is Sitefinder?

3, Network Rail, O2, and Vodafone, all supply data voluntarily to Ofcom periodically.
Because of the ongoing legal process concerning data disclosure, T-Mobile (since 2005), Orange (since 2010) and Airwave (since 2010) have decided to suspend participation and in consequence, data has not been updated.
Ofcom cannot accept liability for any inaccuracies or omissions in the data provided within Sitefinder, or its currency.

What is the current position regarding the legal process?

In 2005, Ofcom received a request for the national Sitefinder dataset under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. As the data relates to radio emissions, Ofcom considered the request under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 and decided that there were exceptions to disclosing this information. In September 2007, the Information Tribunal upheld an earlier decision of the Information Commissioner directing Ofcom to release or publish the Sitefinder national dataset. (http://www.informationtribunal.gov.uk/DBFiles/Decision/i104/Ofcom.pdf).

Ofcom appealed the Tribunals Decision in the UK Courts and in January 2010, the UK Supreme Court referred the matter to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) (http://www.supremecourt.gov.uk/docs/uksc_2009_0168_judgment.pdf) seeking clarification of a point of law. The ECJ has clarified that Ofcoms view was correct, that in balancing the public interests in favour of and opposed to disclosing information, relevant factors should be considered cumulatively rather than separately (European Court Judgments and Opinions, case number C-71/10).

On 6 October 2011, the Supreme Court ordered that the matter should be remitted to the Tribunal for a differently constituted tribunal to reconsider the public interest balancing exercise.

What is a base station?

Typically a base station will consist of an equipment cabinet, an antenna that sends and receives radio waves to and from mobile phones and a structure that supports the antenna. The radio waves can carry speech, data, music, pictures etc.

Each base station provides coverage for a given area. Base stations can be a few hundred metres apart in major cities or several kilometres apart in rural areas. The transmitting power of any particular base station is variable and depends on several factors, including the number of calls and the distance between the base station and the mobile phones making the calls.

A base station is not necessarily associated with a mast. A mast is a free-standing structure that supports the antennas. A base station might equally consist of an equipment cabin and an unobtrusive antenna attached to a building or other structure.

Why do we need more?

As the number of people owning and using mobile phones grows, so more base stations are needed to carry the 'traffic'. New features enabled by 3G, such as internet access, e-commerce, and video services require more information or data to be transmitted. The transmission of large quantities of data will increase the requirement for base stations.

Other transmitters on Sitefinder

Network Rail uses GSM-R technology (a railway variant of GSM) to provide a national Railway Communications System enabling effective operational communications for those working on the railway, primarily between train drivers and signallers. This provides operational and safety benefits for rail passengers across the country.

Airwave is the network that provides secure voice and data communications for the Police and Emergency Services.

The Network Rail and Airwave systems are not available to public users.

What if a base station is not shown on the maps?

Only operational base stations and those that are in the process of being built are shown on the maps, so if a base station has only been recently built it may not show until the next update. As described above, some operators are currently not supplying data updates because of an ongoing legal process.

It is also possible that the station in question is used instead by one of the other types of radio user. These include radio and television broadcasters, utility companies, the emergency services, taxi companies, government services, aeronautical radio, and the paging industry.

What is the audit of base station emissions?

Ofcom has carried out measurements of representative samples of cellular base stations in publicly accessible areas which indicate that, even in the vicinity of cellular masts, measurements are consistently found to be very significantly below these levels (by two orders of magnitude at the very least). Ofcoms remit is restricted to carrying out sample measurements of emission levels so as to allow those with an interest to assess compliance with the ICNIRP guidance.

For more information please see: http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/sitefinder/audit-info