Mobile telephony is without doubt one of the most explosive developments ever to have taken place in the telecommunications industry. By the end of 1990 there were just 11 million cellular subscribers world-wide; eight years later that figure had jumped to 320 million and is now forecast by the ITU to exceed 550million by the end of next year. Penetration rates in the Nordic countries were close to 60% by September 1999, led by Finland (63%), Norway (58%), Iceland (56%) and Sweden (53%).

Mobile growth around the world has also been nothing short of astonishing. China posted an 87% combined annual subscriber growth rate from 1995 to 1998, with other major economies like Brazil (82%) and South Africa (67%) not far behind.

For the world’s poorest countries, cellular telephony and wireless local loop systems represent the best chance yet of bringing the power of telecommunications to economically disadvantaged or isolated communities. Cambodia, for example, is one of only half a dozen countries in the world where cellular subscribers already outnumber fixed-line subscribers.

Without doubt, mobile telephony offers enormous advantages – added convenience, greater personal security, and the ability to take advantage of ‘dead’ time to do business on the move. But the picture isn’t all rosy. Like most young technologies, mobile telephony is experiencing its share of teething troubles, including concerns about environmental impact, health and safety, and, of course, the social changes being wrought by a technology which, by making us permanently contactable, is having a profound effect on our interpersonal interaction.

A Steel-and-Concrete Jungle

Predictably, environmental complaints have been the loudest in developed countries, where zoning laws, property rights and environmental obligations are often more strictly enforced, and where reliable access to a range of communications services is, in any case, largely taken for granted. Communities in developing countries are, conversely, often so grateful for modern communications infrastructure that they are happy enough – for the moment at least – to turn a blind eye to environmental aesthetics.

In order to avoid problems with environmental groups and local communities – which can be potentially costly in terms of both legal fees and delays in network roll-out – many equipment manufacturers and operators are now working on ways to reduce the environmental impact of cellular antennas.

In the Central Business Districts of large, modern cities, the problem is relatively easily solved by simply integrating a large number of small antennas into the facades of tall buildings. In suburban and semi-rural areas, on the other hand, the large, steel-grey structures needed to support larger cells are harder to hide – yet some operators have nonetheless come up with innovative solutions. In South Africa, for example, at least one operator has taken to camouflaging GSM towers in tropical palm trees – with surprisingly successful results. Elsewhere, the tall spires of churches and cathedrals are being used to hide antennas, representing a positive solution for both the general public and the religious organizations which suddenly find themselves with profitable antenna-site rental on their hands.

Etiquette for the Modern Age

One of Europe’s bigger mobile operators recently took the offensive by launching an advertising campaign aimed at encouraging more responsible and considerate use of cellphones. The campaign, which began with a series of cinema advertisements reminding people to turn off their phones before the movie, is targeted at people who not only take calls in socially inappropriate places, like restaurants, live entertainment events or churches, but speak so loudly that everyone in the immediate vicinity is obliged to listen to their call.

This intrusive aspect of mobile telephony recently prompted a columnist in the New York Times to publish an article denouncing the technology as the ‘real’ Y2K virus. Aside from being scathingly critical of the growing number of people inconsiderate enough to inflict their calls on other restaurant diners, theatre-goers and the like, the article pointed to a more insidious problem – the tendency for mobile technologies to lead to overwork and exploitation. Indeed, growing numbers of cellphone users can frequently be heard to complain that their company now expects them to be available virtually 24 hours a day. Always contactable has come to mean always available, to the point where people are finding work taking over their evenings, weekends and even holidays.

A Complex Dilemma

Solving problems of etiquette and over-connectedness requires action from two separate camps. Mobile users need to become more aware of the fact that being interrupted during a face-to-face meeting or social engagement, or having to listen to loud conversations that don’t concern them, is a source of annoyance to most people. Mobile phone users should turn their handsets off whenever receiving a call would be inappropriate – for example, in any public place where others are in close proximity, at religious services, funerals, weddings, or in quiet places like nature reserves.

New technologies like GSM’s Simple Message Service (SMS), call diversion and voice mail, and discreetly vibrating cellphones leave little excuse for bad manners. In an exceptional case when taking a call in company is unavoidable, users should excuse themselves before answering the phone, and then go to a quiet place where they can sort out their business in private.

The second camp is companies – and this means colleagues and immediate bosses, not just senior management. Companies need to accord a greater amount of respect to employees’ right to personal time. Ideally they should define a corporate policy on out-of-hours calls, and ensure staff stick to it. Not only will a responsible, respectful policy on mobile phone use keep employees happier and more motivated, it will ultimately translate into greater efficiencies, since staff who don’t fear constant interruptions are more likely to make themselves available to deal with a real emergency.

Health Issues

The little – and inconclusive – research undertaken so far has nonetheless hinted that excessive exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) could cause such undesirable effects as memory loss, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, and even brain tumours.

An Australian study published in 1997, for example, suggested that transgenic mice exposed to signals similar to those emitted by a cellular phone were up to twice as likely to develop lymphomas. A UK study, meanwhile, found that mobile phone use could affect the nerve cells responsible for short-term memory, while a study carried out in the Nordic region linked excessive use of mobile phones with headaches and fatigue – symptoms which generally disappeared as soon as cellphone use was discontinued.

But so far the lack of hard data has meant scientists have felt themselves unable to pronounce favourably or negatively on the effects of heavy mobile phone use – apart from meting out (unintentionally) amusing advice such as the recommendation which appeared in a UK newspaper last year: "If you use a mobile phone a lot, you need your head examined."

In an effort to garner some concrete evidence about the possible effects of widespread long-term mobile phone use, the Geneva-based World Health Organization (WHO) has initiated the International EMF Project, designed to provide a reasonable risk assessment of the dangers of frequent exposure to radio frequency fields.

For the moment, many operators and manufacturers are playing it safe and recommending that users take precautionary action, such as alternating ears every few minutes during a long call, or taking advantage of new, low-radiation antennas and phone chips. Separate earphones and microphones are also increasingly widely used, as a way of keeping the possible radiation effects further away from the brain, as well as allowing hands-free operation of the phone.

Safety in Numbers

When people are talking on a mobile phone, they’re often paying less attention than they should to what’s going on around them. This can be dangerous in certain situations, such as around building sites or – particularly – when driving a car. One extreme case, which came to light on the international press wire services this summer, told of a man picked up while driving in the Israeli town of Netanya with a mobile phone glued to each ear. The man had become so engrossed in his conversations that he had taken to steering with his elbows – and was flagged down by a policewoman who had noticed his car weaving treacherously from side to side.

While this is an exaggerated example, the use of mobile phones while driving is considered sufficiently dangerous by many governments that it is banned in at least a dozen countries, including Australia, Austria, Denmark, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Portugal, Poland, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain and Switzerland.

Social Outcasts – or New Freedoms?

It’s the ultimate in social alienation, and indicative, say some, of a trend which threatens to eat away at our sense of social cohesion. Whether it’s the novelty of the technology or our simple need to feel wanted, the human brain seems to register incoming electronic signals as inherently more urgent and important than the interpersonal signals coming from a fellow human being in front of us.

Team this with an almost universal desire to avoid personal contact – witness the popularity of every kind of impersonal invention, from e-mail and the Internet to automatic teller machines – and it’s clear that alienation could prove a serious side effect of a technology whose selling point until now has often focused on slogans like "It’s about communications between people" or "Connecting People".

A Thought for a Digital Age

Aside from yet-unanswered questions relating to health, the positive use of mobile technologies lies largely in our hands – in the hands of government, when it comes to environmental issues and safety regulations; in the hands of operators, who can do much to ensure the smooth integration of the technology into our society, both in terms of equipment design and aesthetics, and through initiatives which help train people in mobile phone etiquette; in the hands of employers, who can take pains to ensure staff with corporate mobiles are not abused; and ultimately, in the hands of users, who need to cultivate a greater level of awareness and work to ensure that their phone use does not negatively impact the lives of those around them.