cell phone towers

Last week, I received a notice from the San Francisco Planning Department that AT&T Mobility is proposing to install a "wireless communications facility" (read, cell phone tower) within 500 feet of my house.

The notice says it will consist of 12 panel antennas and won't be visible from the street. I'm also invited to attend an "informational community meeting" with the city and AT&T reps and call an AT&T hotline to leave questions or comments.

In a city like San Francisco where complaining about AT&T is … Read more

Wind data provider Onsemble announced today that it's completed a sensor network capable of tracking the wind data near 95 percent of the wind farms in Texas.

The Onsemble Network sensors, which collect data on wind speed, direction, and temperature, were placed on cell phone towers between 80 meters and 120 meters above the ground. As with other wind data sensor systems, the data is relayed back to a central hub and analyzed by a computer program to predict future behavior.

In the case of wind forecasting, Onsemble says collecting wind speeds at such heights, close to the height … Read more

With its hilly terrain, dense urban population, and plenty of government red tape, San Francisco already is a difficult place for cell phone carriers to build new antennas. But that process could become even more complicated if the city approves new aesthetics restrictions for antenna installation on public property.

Under the Personal Wireless Service Facility Site Permits Ordinance (PDF), introduced Tuesday by SF Supervisor John Avalos, antenna applicants would have to consider the visual impact of any new installations. The city could also reject applications based on that factor alone.

Jonas Ionin, senior planner for the San Francisco Planning Department, … Read more

On today's show, Brian Cooley announces that he's made the switch...I mean, the big switch. He bought an iPhone. The world briefly stopped rotating, and when it resumed, we laid down the smack on poor Jerry Yang, the Justice Department, the XM-Sirius merger, and subsequent channel flipping, and some poor guy who thought it was a good idea to call our show. Good times!

Yahoo's Jerry Yang to step down, as a search for new CEO commences http://kara.allthingsd.com/20081117/yahoos-jerry-yang-to-step-down-as-a-search-for-new-ceo-commences/ Jerry Yang's entire memo … Read more

Most studies on cell phone towers try to determine whether emissions can be linked to cancer in humans. (This one says it's not.) But a new three-year study tracks their effects on people's anxiety, tension and fatigue.

The conclusion of the study is that emissions from phone masts do not cause accelerated heart rate or higher blood pressure in people, according to a team of scientists at the University of Essex in England.

The scientists tested 44 people who had said previously that they were sensitive to cell phone technology, and another 114 people who had not reported … Read more