UK Mobile Phone Mast Row

There’s a standoff between Ofcom, the Information Commissioner and mobile operators about a web site detailing information on mobile phone masts.

A major row has broken out about a web site. Not just any site, but one that details all the mobile phone masts in the UK.   The site, called Sitefinder, is run by the British telecoms regulator, Ofcom. However, following a ruling last year that all mast sites must be shown by map grid reference and in a searchable database, showing the type of mobile phone signal being used, the operator’s name, mast height and signal frequency, mobile operators have refused to supply data, and is appealing to the UK Information Commissioner.   They argue that making all that data publicly available would be giving out too much information, and Ofcom itself had argued in their favour before being overruled by the Information Commissioner, and is now appealing against that decision in court.   All of this stems from a request made under the Freedom of Information Act by Health Protection Scotland, which wanted to add the information to its own database, the Environmental Health Surveillance System For Scotland (EHS3), which it could use to investigate health issues associated with the masts.   As of now a stalemate exists, and it looks as if the only breakthrough will be legal.