The BBC News website has an article about the row regarding data about the placement and use of mobile telephone masts:
The Sitefinder website is maintained by media regulator Ofcom, following a request from the government in 2000. But mobile firms stopped giving data to the site last year after Ofcom was told it must publish grid references of all the masts in a searchable database.
Now, the mobile companies believe this is commercially sensitive material and would allow the different mobile companies to be able to discern the design of their others networks. As a result, they have stopped supplying the data to Ofcom.
While I understand their concerns, I have the following observations:
- I fully support the Government in this – we should have a database, complete with a Maps mashup showing the locations of every mast in the country. Heck, in every country.
- The Government told Ofcom to get the info. The operators refused. Does it not then behoove Ofcom, as the telecoms regulator, to give the various mobile operators a good kicking? What’s the point in having a toothless operator?
- Why the hell is Ofcom appealing against the Government’s decision in this case? Why is this in the High Court? Why is Ofcom doing the mobile operators work?
According to SiteFinder, I have 3 single operator GSM transmitters and 4 single operator UMTS transmitters in my postcode. None of them are Shared base stations with more than one operator or more than one technology.
In my opinion, Ofcom should be demanding up to date information or fining the operators who do not provide it. I don’t care if this is commercially sensitive. This information should be in the public domain. They’re broadcasting in my wireless space, their signals enter my house.
And what is the commercial sensitivity? Surely competing mobile operators will be able to detect the placement of wireless masts much the way we can use tools like iStumbler or Kismet to detect WiFi networks?
Would we find out that their coverage of the country falls far short of what they are claiming? Would their competitors suddenly gain a great advantage from seeing this data? I’m not sure how it could seriously affect their business. And surely they’d get the same competitive gain from seeing other operators networks.
What are they hiding?