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US company offers schools lease revenue to host cell towers, board member asks about RF exposure
Yahoo News reports: Diamond Communications, a US firm that places cell towers on institutional land, has pitched its school-focused ConnectEd NC program to the Haywood County school board in North Carolina. The company offers to install towers on district-owned property at no cost, then lease space to AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile and pay the district roughly $9,000 per carrier per year (over $30,000 if all three sign on). Board member Marla Morris asked about projected RF exposure levels near classrooms, playgrounds and athletic fields, and Diamond's Robert Leonard replied that in 30 years in the industry he has seen no empirical evidence that cell towers cause cancer, citing FCC rules on emissions. The board deferred a decision.
Note: Yahoo News republished this article from a local North Carolina outlet. Diamond Communications' ConnectEd NC program offers school districts free tower installation in exchange for hosting antennas that generate lease revenue for the district.
"Let's talk about the adverse health effects,"
— Marla Morris, Haywood County School Board
"What are your projected radio frequency exposure levels? These are near classrooms, offices, playgrounds, athletic fields, and other areas that our students and employees will be routinely spending time."
— Marla Morris, Haywood County School Board
"Every licensed carrier has to oblige by the FCC obligations of the frequency that they emit,"
— Robert Leonard, Diamond Communications
"We don't control their frequencies. We are nothing but the tower provider, but they're licensed by the federal government, and they can't exceed those levels. There's probably more Wi-Fi radio frequency in this building than what you're going to get from that tower."
— Robert Leonard, Diamond Communications
Location
📍 Waynesville, North Carolina, United States
