Safe Services
ICL Group strives to give customers full beneficial communications solutions, while keeping safety in mind.
Safe Services
At ICL we have an ambition to deliver Internet for All. Not for the privileged few but for everyone, everywhere. To achieve that ambition we need to examine the barriers that prevent people from enjoying the benefits that connectivity offers. While we are confident that the Internet enriches children’s lives, we also know that children’s drive to explore comes with certain risks.
Digital Responsibility
As a particularly vulnerable group, children should receive special attention and a supportive eco-system should aim to address the risks and grow the resilience of younger users. This eco-system needs to involve a range of different stakeholders.
At ICL we see a role that we can play in several areas, and we have identified five focus areas where we want to make progress going forward. Across ICL Group, our business units will strive to:
Reach out to schools to grow awareness and provide education to children, parents, guardians and teachers
Ensure guidance on the availability of meaningful and easy-to-use parental controls
Provide access to toll-free child helplines with capacity to support children who have been exposed to harm
Make available effective mechanisms for reporting illegal and harmful content
Maintain effective mechanisms to prevent the spread of child sexual abuse
Joining forces to protect children online
Together with experienced partners, we take an active role in promoting safer use of communication services among children and young adults as well as among teachers, parents and caregivers. Key priorities are preventing digital bullying and contributing to develop a safe online universe for young people to explore.
In 2014, the GSMA formed a partnership with Child Helpline International (CHI) to protect young people and safeguard their right to be heard. Together the GSMA and CHI will establish a roadmap for promoting child helplines across the globe. ICL Group has been an enthusiastic supporter of this partnership and will promote quality helplines and support efforts to also reach such geographic locations where there is no service today.
Mobile Phones and Health
At all its base stations and antenna installations ICL adheres strictly to international and national guidelines for health and safety. Network equipment, such as antennas at repeater sites and base station sites, emit radio waves in order to ensure extensive and high-quality mobile coverage. These radio waves are often described as “radiation”. But, in a health context, it is more accurate to use the term electromagnetic fields (EMF), which emit from all electronic equipment.
Whenever ICL installs new network equipment, we ensure public health and safety by adhering strictly to the electromagnetic exposure guidelines of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). These guidelines are endorsed by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Radio waves from mobile phones
Mobile phones transmit radio waves and create electromagnetic fields as they communicate with base stations. The specific levels depend on the distance to the base station as well as the type of mobile phone. All commercially available mobile phones comply with the safety limits endorsed by WHO, and the actual exposure level (SAR value Specific Absorption Rate) is printed in the user manual or on the box. At ICL we are committed to engaging in dialogue with stakeholders concerned about health and electromagnetic fields. We are committed to communicate in a transparent manner to anyone seeking more information about any of our installations and mobile devices.
