Bell Community Notification

For a 26m Telecommunications Tower Bell Site Code G1308
Located at:
2 3rd Ave, Cochrane

Your local land use authority
Telecommunication tower/antenna facilities are exclusively regulated by Federal legislation under the Radiocommunication Act and administered by Industry Canada. Therefore, Provincial legislation such as the Planning Act, including zoning-bylaws, does not apply to these facilities. It is important to understand that Industry Canada, makes the final decision on whether or not a tower facility can be constructed. The Town can only provide comments to Industry Canada and does not have the authority to stop the construction of a telecommunication tower/antenna facility.

This public notification has been designed to provide all the necessary information as required by Industry Canada to those properties that fall within the notification radius.

Where will it be located?
The proposed site of the tower is on the property municipally known as 2 3rd Ave.
The geographic coordinates for the site are:
Latitude (NAD 83) N 49.057540
Longitude (NAD 83) W –81.027495
Bell strongly supports co-location on existing towers and structures. The use of existing structures minimizes the number of new towers required in a given area and is generally a more cost effective way of doing business.

Why is a new tower required?
A radio antenna and tower are the two most important parts of a radio communication system. The antenna is needed to send and receive signals for the radio station. The tower raises the antenna above obstructions such as trees and buildings so that it can send and receive these signals clearly.
Each radio station and its antenna system (including the tower) provide radio coverage to a specific geographic area, often called a cell. The communication system must be carefully located to ensure that it provides a good signal over the whole cell area, without interfering with other stations. In areas where there are many cells, the antennas do not need to be very high. Where the cells are larger, the antennas must be higher above the ground level in order to provide good radio coverage for the whole area.
In this case, Bell and the GMCB have determined the need for new radio communication in the area in order to adequately provide contiguous coverage and service to existing and future emergency services. Bell chose this site in order to avoid problematic situations for existing and future emergency services, such as poor voice and data quality, dropped calls, or even the inability to place a mobile call in the subject area.

What will it look like?
Bell is proposing a 26.0 metre self-support tower to improve upon the overall poor coverage in your area. Below is an rendering of the proposed tower structure.

What about health & safety?
Health and safety are paramount to Bell Mobility (Bell) and their collaborators the Government Mobile Communication Branch (GMCB) of the Province of Ontario. Health Canada has established electromagnetic expo-sure guidelines, known as Safety Code 6, to ensure the safe operation of wireless antenna installations. Bell ensures that all of its facilities operate well below the allowable limits measured, taking into account all pre-existing sources and combined effects of additional carrier co-locations. It is important to note that Bell will not be installing any wireless communication antennas for their network, but will be installing equipment tailored for first responders and other emergency medical services in rural areas for the GMCB.

Bell attests that the installation will respect good engineering practices including structural adequacy.
Bell attests that the radio antenna system described in this notification package will be constructed in compliance with the National Building Code of Canada which includes all applicable CSA Radio Communications Regulations.

Regulatory and consultative procedures for telecommunications antennas can be found in ISED Canada’s CPC 2-0-03 Issue 5.
Bell attests that the radio antenna system described in this notification package will comply with Transport Canada / NAV Canada aeronautical safety require-ments. Bell has made all necessary applications to Transport Canada and NAV Canada. Clearances have been received and lighting or painting is not required as per Transport Canada’s assessment.

What about the environment?
Bell attests that the radio antenna system de-scribed in this notification package will comply with the Impact Assessment Act, as this facility is excluded from assessment.

How do I get involved?
Bell Mobility is committed to public consultation. You are invited to provide comments to Bell about this proposal by mail, electronic mail, or fax.
In order to ensure your comments are considered you must respond between business hours 8:30am–4:30pm by end of business day on March 2, 2026, to the contact below:Lucas Cuff
FONTUR International Inc.
70 East Beaver Creek Road, Unit 22
Richmond Hill, ON, L4B 3B2
Fax: 866-234-7873
Email:
G1308.bellmobility.info@fonturinternational.com

Your land use authority contact
Sophie Hautot, RPP, MCIP
Land Use Planner
92 Second St
Cochrane, ON P0L 1C0
Email: Sophie.Hautot@cochraneontario.com

For more information
ATTENTION: Tower Issue—2 3rd Ave—G1308
Eastern and Northern Ontario District Office 2 Queen St E
Sault Ste. Marie, ON P6A 1Y3
Tele: 1-855-465-6307
Fax: 705-941-4607
Email: spectrumenod-spectredeno@ised-isde.gc.ca
General information from Industry Canada:
http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/antenna

Health Canada’s Safety Code 6:
http://www.ic.gc.ca/epic/site/smt-gst.nsf/en/sf05990e.html