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Italy builds its first wooden telecoms tower

Italian company INWIT has built Italy’s first wooden structured mobile telecommunications tower. Work has finished on the installation of the first structure made of glued laminated timber, an alternative to steel. Source: Timberbiz

It is 40 metres high with four walkways to position the hosted operators’ antennas and radio links, the tower is made completely of sustainable and circular material, in line with the objectives of the 2021-2023 Sustainability Plan.

Located along the A51 Tangenziale Est ring road in Milan, in the Municipality of Brugherio (MB), the tower stands next to the Est delle Cave Park and will guarantee cellular network coverage in the area, also ensuring emergency telephone services, which are of particular importance for motorway traffic.

With this initiative INWIT pursues two objectives for these areas: the redevelopment of the park as a wildlife corridor, and the best possible environmental and landscape integration of the infrastructure. The wooden structured mast will replace the previous steel one, which will be dismantled and recovered.

“Our choice aims to be responsible and sustainable,” said the CEO of INWIT, Giovanni Ferigo. “With an increasingly more connected future on the horizon, more towers will be needed to support telecoms operators. It is, therefore, our duty to come up with alternative materials that reduce the environmental impact throughout the life cycle of the infrastructure and that are more harmonious with the landscape and urban surroundings. We are convinced that glued laminated timber is an excellent choice in this regard, to create an environment that is increasingly more connected, sustainable and circular.”