Telecom Italia and the Province of Sondrio have signed an agreement for the use of new non-invasive digging techniques to realize network infrastructure and strengthen broadband services. The announcement was made today in the presence of Massimo Sertori, President of the Province of Sondrio, and Giovanni Moretto, Director of Access Operations Area North-West, Telecom Italia.
The agreement, implementing Law 69 of 2009 “Provisions for economic development, simplification and competitiveness and civil procedure”, is designed to improve the safety of works on new broadband networks to be carried out by Telecom Italia. The operation, which has a timeframe of four years, will affect the laying of broadband telecommunications cables along main roads across the Province of Sondrio, involving the digging itself and clean-up operations, for future innovations and existing lines.
The agreement paves the way for the use of leading-edge techniques and tools across the Sondrio area, reducing environmental impact and site costs associated with building telecommunications networks and upgrading broadband services.
The use of so-called mini-trenches —only a few centimetres wide and just 30 centimetres deep— should reduce the environmental costs in terms of disturbance to the general public and local authorities by up to 80%, accidents at work by 67% and shorten times required for the work by 80%.
The operation comes as a response to a call for tenders issued by the Region of Lombardy and awarded to Telecom Italia to build out broadband and ultrabroadband infrastructure with a view to bridging the digital divide for 36 towns in the Province of Sondrio by mid 2013. The new services are expected to give a massive boost to economic growth in the area.
According to President of the Province of Sondrio Massimo Sertori: “For a region like ours which has for years suffered from a dearth of infrastructure not just for the movement of people and goods but also in electronic communications, this represents a huge opportunity and a real turning point in our competitive position with respect to the rest of the country. The arrival of broadband will mean that Valtellina and Valchiavenna will no longer be cut off from the big economic, financial and business centres, hindered by the slowness of our road transport infrastructure. Thanks to the Region of Lombardy initiative and to Telecom Italia this alpine valley can truly look forward to a new era.”
“At a time when the development of net infrastructure and broadband telecommunications has become strategic to the country's growth, this major agreement reinforces the synergy and cooperation between Telecom Italia and the Province of Sondrio," said Giovanni Moretto, Director of Access Operations Area North-West Telecom Italia. "A far-sighted project involving innovative low environmental impact digging technologies, like the mini-trench, reducing public disturbance caused by road works and bringing great benefits in terms of workers' safety.”
Sondrio, 19 December 2011
