Five masts to boost patchy Park reception

TALLEST IS FOR EMERGENCY SERVICES

THE Snowdonia National Park Authority has been presented with five applications for masts ranging from 12 to 40 metres in height due to concerns over patchy reception in parts of the county.

The tallest of the planned structures would see a 40-metre Emergency Service Network mast, as well as ground based equipment cabinets, built at Moel Friog, Ganllwyd.

The application, submitted by the Home Office, forms part of the Government’s new Emergency Services Network (ESN), set to be introduced

in 2022. All 107 police, fire and ambulance services in England, Scotland and Wales currently use the Airwave network to communicate between rooms and officers on the ground, along with 363 other organisations such as local authorities and mountain rescuers.

But its replacement is intended to replace existing walkie-talkie-style radios with a system based on a 4G network, enabling officers using smartphone equipment to speedily access data such as videos and images.

The Home Office has also confirmed that there will be capacity to share this infrastructure with mobile companies to also improve public mobile reception.

Meanwhile EE, which is working with the Government on the Emergency Service Network project, has also submitted plans for four separate but smaller masts within park boundaries which will also carry both ESN and general mobile phone frequencies: a 9.95m mast at Minffordd, Tal y Llyn, a 16.5m structure at Dyfi Forest, Aberangell, a 16.7m mast at Maentwrog Sewage Treatment Works and a 12m structure on land near Bod-Owen, Barmouth.