In Russia, by the end of 2025, telecom operators will complete the dismantling of base stations (BS) on the territories of schools and kindergartens in accordance with the requirements of Rospotrebnadzor. This ban was introduced in 2021 due to potential risks of negative radiation exposure to children's health and covers already installed BS on the territories of 221 educational institutions. In the future, restrictions may lead to the dismantling of about 4 thousand stations throughout the country, which, according to operators, may worsen the quality of communication in a number of densely populated areas, where these stations played a key role.
Rospotrebnadzor clarifies that the new sanitary rules apply to all educational institutions, including secondary, higher, and preschool. However, operators face difficulties in finding alternative locations for base stations, as residents refuse to install equipment on roofs, and in some regions there are legislative restrictions on the installation of mast structures.
MTS notes that the removal of BS from the territories of schools and kindergartens will make it difficult to fulfill state tasks to improve the quality of mobile communications in educational campuses, and the transfer of stations may cost operators 150-200 thousand rubles for each.
VimpelCom emphasizes that children spend most of their time outside of schools, where their phones are still in the zone of electromagnetic radiation from base stations. Therefore, the company believes that the abolition of restrictions could reduce the costs of operators, which could be directed to improving communication.
Mobile operators also face a paradox: many BS were installed on the territories of schools to comply with the requirements of LTE licenses, obliging operators to cover educational institutions with a network. Now they have to dismantle these stations.
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