Plans to erect a mobile cell tower in Devonshire have again been submitted to the Planning Department.

The application, received by the Department on February 13, proposes the erection of a 65-foot “cell-site on wheels” capable of extending to 100ft, at 49 South Road.

The move comes two months after an almost identical application for the same site was rejected on appeal.

The application had received about 230 objections from the public, who expressed concern about potential health hazards of such a tower, but Digicel argued that the tower fell well within the US guidelines adopted in Bermuda.

While the application was approved by the Development Applications Board (DAB), objectors appealed that decision to the Minister of Home Affairs, Senator Michael Fahy.

An independent planning inspector accepted that radio frequency (RF) exposure from the tower would be 130 times lower than limits set by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), but recommended that permission be refused as Digicel had not provided evidence that co-location with other towers was not possible as per planning guidelines.

Sen Fahy subsequently upheld the appeal, citing the planning inspector’s report.

The most recent application for the site includes a Co-location Study, which states that the current cell service in the area is poor and that co-location on existing towers is not feasible.

A section of the document reads: “The area is deficient for both telecommunications carriers and providing cell coverage and especially emergency service is difficult. Based on our analysis, it’s currently impossible on the water edge. As the demand for voice and digital service increase, the coverage foot print will decrease.”

The study writer said that existing cell towers both at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital and the Prospect area cannot service the area due to spectrum usage issues. Speed tests included in the study suggest that both Digicel and CellOne have difficulty servicing the area, resulting in poor data speeds, intermittent voice service or even a lack of service.

The document adds that the lack of adequate mobile coverage in the area represents a “real risk to emergency services”, noting the proximity to the hospital, and affects tourists at the nearby Ariel Sands resort.

It concludes: “Digicel maintains that it has evaluated and exhausted both the use of co-located towers with Cell One and all options using existing cell sites.”