ISLAMABAD: A recent survey conducted by the Pakistan Telecom Authority (PTA) showed that fears about hazardous effects of telecommunication towers installed by cellular companies were inaccurate.

According to the results of this survey, the power levels of all base transceiver stations (BTSs) surveyed were much below the prescribed limits and in line with the policy directives of the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecom.

They also complied with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) guidelines.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority with the Frequency Allocation Board (FAB) had recently carried a thorough survey in major cities and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) to check the omission of power level from transmitters and receivers of BTSs/cell sites installed by cellular companies.

The survey was carried out using modern tools/equipment in 11 cities across the country including Karachi, Hyderabad, Lahore, Faisalabad, Mirpur, Muzaffarabad, Peshawar, Abbottabad, Quetta, Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

PTA said on Tuesday the impression regarding hazardous effects of the towers had been proved incorrect and a misconception.

The towers had been installed and were working within the specified parameters defined by regulator as well as the international bodies concerning the issue, the authority claimed.

The exercise, which was undertaken on the directions of PTA Chairman Dr Mohammad Yaseen, claimed the authority was cognizant of the issue and would continuously monitor the workings of the towers to ensure that the set standards were met and masses be updated on the issue.