Mobile phone operators have launched a campaign to persuade the Northern Ireland Assembly not to introduce new planning legislation, which they claim could jeopardise future investment and up to 3,000 jobs a year in the North.
The Federation of the Electronics Industry, which represents the UK's five largest mobile phone operators, says proposed changes to planning legislation in the North will restrict and delay the development of the mobile phone industry in the region.
Under the existing planning system, mobile phone operators are permitted to erect mobile telecommunication transmitter sites without full planning permission.
But local communities in the North have increasingly objected to the development of new mobile transmitter sites, many on the basis of health scares, and have made their voice heard to their political representatives at Stormont.
The Northern Ireland Executive is keen to change the legislation to make it compulsory for mobile phone operators to obtain full planning permission before constructing new transmitter sites.
The Department of the Environment believes this would give district councils and their communities more say in the location of new mobile transmitter sites.
The legislation is expected to go before the Northern Ireland Assembly later this month.
But Ms Nicole Hughes, public affairs manager of the Federation of the Electronics Industry, said it has asked the Assembly to reconsider the proposed legislation and instead work with the industry to find a better solution.
Ms Hughes said a move towards full planning permission would delay improvements to the existing network and impact on the roll-out of 3G infrastructure in the North.
"Proposing full planning legislation for this roll-out will not solve the problems that have arisen in recent years.
"What we would like to see is a system where permitted development is granted within a 56-day time frame.
"This would give interested parties an opportunity to review the proposed development and operators a degree of certainty for their business plans," Ms Hughes said.
The proposed changes to the existing legislation in the North would mean that Northern Ireland would have the strictest planning regulations governing the mobile phone industry in the UK.
The federation says research it commissioned shows that the proposed changes to existing planning laws in the North could undermine the region's ability to win new inward investment.
The study carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers into the effects of the proposed changes to the planning regime, claims that the future creation of 3,000 jobs per annum could be jeopardised if Northern Ireland was unable to secure new investment because of its telecommunication infrastructure.
