The Presbyterian Church and Mobile Technology Don't Mix

Bell Mobility, the second largest Canadian mobile operator, is having some problems lately in improving its cellphone reception in Toronto, the largest Canadian city.

At the end of 2007, the CDMA carrier closed a deal with the Presbyterian Church from Guildwood (a neighborhood in Toronto), in order to build a cellphone tower on the property of the Church. The agreement was signed and approved by the Church officials, allowing Bell to use, for the next 20 years, a small plot where the new tower should be located.

Bell needs a new cell tower in order to improve the mobile coverage and signal strength in the area, while the Guildwood Presbyterian Church would use the money received from the carrier for charitable purposes, so the deal seems a good one for both parties.

However, according to Inside Toronto, Bell will have serious trouble building its new tower. The residents living near the Guildwood Presbyterian Church are "furious with the plan" and intend to make Bell abandon the construction. The disgruntled citizens are invoking health reasons for their request, although the Church stated that Bell's tower followed the Health Canada mandated Safety Code 6 as well as the prudent avoidance guidelines given by the City of Toronto.

Following various protests from the residents, the Guildwood Presbyterian Church now wants to cancel the agreement with Bell. Of course, the carrier has all the rights to go on and build its tower if it wishes so, but this will surely make the folk from Guildwood even angrier.

What's weird is that the protest does not come from the members of the Presbyterian Church. In this case, everything would be a little more understandable, since Presbyterians put a lot of emphasis on studying the scriptures as well as other theological writings, in which there's no mention of cell phone towers, handsets, iPhones or other stuff like that. But the Presbyterians are cool with Bell's tower, the only ones angry about it being the non-Presbyterian neighbors of the Church.

Until a reasonable solution for all parties will be found, we can only hope that none of the protests become violent.