THE telecommunications sector in India has been witnessing frenzied growth in recent years, with millions of new subscribers signing up for services across the country. But are Indians paying a high price for this growth, in terms of increased risk of exposure to radiation, which could lead to cancer and other diseases?

There are two kinds of risks associated with mobile phones – the risk of radiation from the handset, which is known to be negligible; and the risk of radiation for those living near telecommunication towers.

Worried over the growing criticism from activists about the hazards of radiation from telecom towers, the government has decided to begin a nationwide testing of mobile phone towers from next week.

According to Sachin Pilot, the junior minister for communications and technology, the Telecom Engineering and Resource Monitoring (Term) cells of the department of telecommunications will begin random testing of mobile phone towers across the nation from November 16. They will primarily check the electro-magnetic frequency radiation emitted by the towers.

Companies found exceeding the approved radiation levels will be fined Rs500,000 (about $12,000), warns the minister. The telecom firm will be given a month's time to bring down the radiation levels; if it fails to do so, the tower would be shut down.

Telecom companies have to get their base trans-receiver station self-certified for radiation norms and furnished to the Term cells with the department. They had been given time up to May 15 by the government, but the response had been very poor: less than a fifth of the total number of towers was certified by the operators. Radiation guidelines in India are based on the recommendations of the International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection.

Consumer and health activists have warned the government that the radiation from telecom towers could emerge as a major healthcare issue, if adequate measures are not taken to monitor – and if necessary, curb – them. The activists have opposed the government's move to allow self-certification by the telecom operators and want audits to be conducted by independent bodies.

But the powerful telecoms lobby is opposed to these moves. The industry denies that the towers pose a health hazard and cite studies by international bodies including the World Health Organisation and the British Medical Association that claim radio-wave emissions from towers are not harmful to humans.

It also claims that if towers are reduced, there could be increasing problems of coverage and connectivity, leading to consumer complaints about congestion and disconnected calls. In cities such as Mumbai, many commuters frequently complain about calls getting disconnected while travelling in trains or cars because of inadequate number of towers.

The industry is also facing trouble from other ministries, departments and even local authorities. In several cities, including Delhi and Mumbai, telecom firms had not obtained necessary clearances from civic bodies. The municipal corporations in both the cities had warned telecom companies to regularise the towers, failing which they could be demolished.

Recently, the ministry of environment and forests, which has been aggressively opposing several major, multi-billion-dollar projects in mining and infrastructure, has also raised objections. Environmentalists claim that the towers could be harmful for animals, birds, insects and bees.

The department of telecommunications is now insisting that telecom operators get a clearance from the environment ministry before planning to set up a tower, especially if it is close to a forest, sanctuary, national park or even a zoo. The industry also has to get clearances from the defence ministry and civil aviation authorities, before planning the erection of a tower.

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WITH nearly 650 million cell phone subscribers – the number is growing at an average of 20 million new subscribers every month – India has emerged as one of the biggest mobile phone market in the world. These 650 million-odd subscribers are serviced through a network of 250,000 towers, a large number of which are located in crowded residential and commercial localities in cities.

Many building owners and office-bearers of residential housing societies encourage telecom infrastructure companies to set up towers on their structures, as it fetches them lucrative returns. In their eagerness to woo the telecom firms, they ignore health hazards or even the threat of a danger to the building's structure because of the heavy load of the tower.

In October, a 50-ft tower in the southern Indian city of Chennai fell in a busy locality, though fortunately the casualties were minimal. The local authorities have asked telecom firms to monitor their ageing towers – many are more than a decade old – and take necessary steps to repair the structures.

In Mumbai, there have been a few cases where residents located in buildings close to the towers have had a significantly high incidence of cancer. However, besides the anecdotal evidence, there has not been much by way of a comprehensive medical and health survey of the residents, leading to lax monitoring standards.

India's mobile subscriber base is expected to cross the one billion mark in a little over two years. 3G services are also being rolled out over the coming months, leading to a huge demand for towers. Analysts expect a doubling in the number of towers – to nearly half a million – by the time the subscriber base crosses the billion mark.

The absence of any monitoring of these towers, especially in the light of anecdotal evidence about the harmful effects of radiation, could mean a disaster in the making. Hence, the government's move to conduct nationwide random testing of the towers from next month.

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THE telecom towers business in India is also undergoing consolidation. About three years ago, three major telecom operators – Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar and Idea Cellular – decided to spin off their towers business into an independent company, Indus Towers, which is today the largest tower company with about 110,000 towers.

Other players include Viom Networks Ltd, which is a joint venture between Tata Teleservices Ltd and Quippo Telecom Infrastructure), Reliance Infratel and independent tower companies including GTL Infrastructure and Transcend Infrastructure, a subsidiary of American Towers Corporation. There are several other smaller players owning 1,000 to 5,000 towers.

Last week, Vodafone Essar – which still owns 7,000 towers in six telecom circles – was considering selling off these units, and GTL Infra and Tata Quippo are believed to be in the fray. Vodafone Essar, India's third-largest cell-phone operator, will soon roll out its 3G services. It invested about Rs120 billion in acquiring 3G licences for 12 circles.

As part of the consolidation process, GTL had earlier this year acquired about 18,000 towers from Aircel Ltd for about $1.8 billion. However, GTL's Rs500 billion bid to merge with Reliance Infratel failed recently. The company is eyeing smaller tower operators, especially those with up to 5,000 towers. Its board has approved a move to raise nearly Rs20 billion, which could help it in going ahead with other acquisitions.

Domestic Indian tower majors including GTL and Quippo Telecom are also looking at overseas acquisitions. Both companies have been short-listed to acquire a strategic stake in the tower assets of Saudi Telecom Company, a leading Gulf-based telecom operator. The Saudi company is seeking a strategic partner for its 12,000-strong tower business and is keen to spin it off into a separate unit. Many other international players, including American Tower Company, are in the race for this deal.