National Plan for Cellphone Antennas Inside Churches Agreed

The Church of England has signed an agreement to offer Quintel S4, a joint venture between QinetiQ, the former UK government Defence Evaluation and Research Agency, and the property and investment group, Rotch Property, access to its properties for installing cellphone base stations. The deal gives Quintel S4 direct access to some 5,000 Church of England churches which have expressed an interest as potential sites for hidden aerials within a national arrangement. Other churches from a stock of some 16,000 sites will be able to join the scheme if they choose to do so. Capacity will then be made available by Quintel S4 to the various mobile communications service providers.

Richard Hopgood, Acting Secretary General for the Archbishops' Council of the Church of England says: "Hosting aerials in spires and towers can prevent a proliferation of unsightly masts. It also ensures the precautionary principles of the Stewart Report are followed, whilst bringing in valuable income for the parishes. The Council believes this arrangement offers a safer and more controlled route for parishes to host aerials - if they wish to do so - than by individual negotiations with companies. Quintel S4 will work within a framework of terms and conditions especially designed for parishes as well as within the Church's own careful procedures. We are confident they will do a good job."

With the technology developed under contract by QinetiQ, each Quintel antenna is capable of simultaneously receiving and transmitting all five 3G operators' radio signals, combining services for all of the licence holders within a single roof-top or mast antenna unit, without any loss of performance. This will significantly reduce the number of transmission sites needed, improving coverage and service levels, giving significant cost savings, having fewer public health concerns and meaning skylines are less cluttered.'"

Posted to the site on 24th June 2002