After an extensive consultation project, the Archbishops' Council of the Church of England and Quintel S4 today, 25 June 2002, announce that an agreement has been signed granting Quintel S4 approved status for telecommunications installations in churches. This is intended to put Quintel in a position to develop a network of multi-user mobile telecoms base stations in the spires and towers of suitable parish churches which have registered their interest and satisfied the relevant legal requirements.

The deal gives Quintel S4 direct access to some 5,000 Church of England churches which have expressed an interest as potential sites for hidden aerials within a national arrangement. Other churches from a stock of some 16,000 sites will be able to join the scheme if they choose to do so. Installations will be planned in line with a precautionary approach, subject to the Church's rigorous controls and following meaningful consultation with parishioners, with individual churches receiving remuneration based on a nationally agreed rate card and the number of providers wanting to operate from each individual site. Capacity will then be made available by Quintel S4 to the various mobile communications service providers.

Richard Hopgood, Acting Secretary General for the Council and head of the Council's Telecommunications Working Party says, 'Hosting aerials in spires and towers can prevent a proliferation of unsightly masts. It also ensures the precautionary principles of the Stewart Report are followed, whilst bringing in valuable income for the parishes. The Council believes this arrangement offers a safer and more controlled route for parishes to host aerials - if they wish to do so - than by individual negotiations with companies. Quintel S4 will work within a framework of terms and conditions especially designed for parishes as well as within the Church's own careful procedures. We are confident they will do a good job.'

Graeme Ferrero, Chief Executive Officer of Quintel Group says, 'This deal gives Quintel S4 an impressive initial portfolio in the UK of potential sites for hidden base stations. By using the unique base station antenna sharing technology, we can meet a number of service providers' transmission needs within a single site, providing optimum coverage without a proliferation of individual masts. We absolutely agree with the Church's new precautionary Best Practice Commitment which will reassure both congregations and neighbours as will the use of our revolutionary new multi-user system'.

With the revolutionary technology developed under contract by QinetiQ, each Quintel antenna is capable of simultaneously receiving and transmitting all five 3G operators' radio signals, combining services for all of the licence holders within a single roof-top or mast antenna unit, without any loss of performance. This will significantly reduce the number of transmission sites needed, improving coverage and service levels, giving significant cost savings, having fewer public health concerns and meaning skylines are less cluttered.