wfn.org | ACNS - Church of England signs aerial deal with Quintel S4

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

ACNS 3037 - ENGLAND - 25 June 2002

Church of England signs aerial deal with Quintel S4

After an extensive consultation project, the Archbishops' Council of the
Church of England and Quintel S4 today, 25 June 2002, announce that an
agreement has been signed granting Quintel S4 approved status for
telecommunications installations in churches. This is intended to put
Quintel in a position to develop a network of multi-user mobile telecoms
base stations in the spires and towers of suitable parish churches which
have registered their interest and satisfied the relevant legal
requirements.

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.
Installations will be planned in line with a precautionary approach, subject
to the Church's rigorous controls and following meaningful consultation with
parishioners, with individual churches receiving remuneration based on a
nationally agreed rate card and the number of providers wanting to operate
from each individual site. Capacity will then be made available by Quintel
S4 to the various mobile communications service providers.

Richard Hopgood, Acting Secretary General for the Council and head of the
Council's Telecommunications Working Party 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.'

Graeme Ferrero, Chief Executive Officer of Quintel Group says, 'This deal
gives Quintel S4 an impressive initial portfolio in the UK of potential
sites for hidden base stations. By using the unique base station antenna
sharing technology, we can meet a number of service providers' transmission
needs within a single site, providing optimum coverage without a
proliferation of individual masts. We absolutely agree with the Church's new
precautionary Best Practice Commitment which will reassure both
congregations and neighbours as will the use of our revolutionary new
multi-user system'.

With the revolutionary 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.

_______________________________________________
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