TV Broadcast

EI TOWERS Group plays a leading role in the evolution of the digital terrestrial platform, offering network operators multiple integrated services delivered to the highest quality standards and based on:

consolidated know how
broad-based R&D initiatives
highly qualified personnel throughout Italy
civil and plant infrastructure covering all regions

Network operators can commission EI TOWERS to create a tailor made bouquet of services based on their requirements, or alternatively outsource network management to the company entirely, from planning and signal transmission, to broadcast sites and equipment rental services.

The comprehensive range of service includes the provision of DTT transmission capacity to local television publishers, in the technical areas where EI Towers has been assigned the rights to use the frequency at local level following the procedure called by the Italian Government (MISE) as part of the refarming process (700 MHz bandwidth).

Services

Hosting

We offer our customers the possibility of hosting their telecommunications equipment in special shelters close to masts and installing their transmitting systems strategically on these structures (or alternatively of sharing the systems already installed and owned by EI TOWERS), in such a way as to ensure the best possible geographical coverage. The shelters are fitted with ventilation/air conditioning systems and important stations are also provided with surveillance equipment.
We walk customers through the entire process, from choosing the most suitable site and equipment testing to commissioning and certification, and always offer assistance and solutions designed specifically to deal with any critical issues.
The transmitting system is often purchased by EI TOWERS and shared by various customers to ensure efficient and effective management of available mast space.

The service also includes:

Surveys and feasibility studies to determine the condition of the infrastructure following a request for hosting/installation and to investigate any issues relating to the infrastructure (antennas and masts), plant engineering (support systems, availability of space, and electric power systems), contracts and site usage rights.
Management of relations with the Public Administration and the presentation of applications on the customer’s behalf, complete with all the necessary attachments.

Monitoring and Quality Control

We monitor the entire plant infrastructure 24/7 to guarantee reliability.Our cutting edge control facilities (Video and Network Operating Centers) and specialist personnel ensure that our services stay up and running. Our operating centers promptly despatch maintenance engineers to restore systems in the event of failures. Work may be performed remotely or directly on site. Monitoring covers hosted equipment, radio links, network infrastructure (eg. optical fiber), head end systems and audio/video/data signal connections.Customers may also decide to monitor their equipment themselves and call in EI TOWERS to perform maintenance work in the event of failures.The Operating Centers also play an active role in station access control and site security management.Signal reception in specific coverage areas is monitored by specialist personnel, using telescopic masts and special equipment to identify any interference and malfunctions and certify coverage areas.A broad-based system of probes is also in place to certify the quality of the signal received by users. A web portal provides Customers with direct access to this information.

Routine, First Response and Corrective Maintenance

We provide customised routine maintenance solutions for hosted equipment and transmitting systems. Our engineers perform periodic controls and specific maintenance work according to specially designed schedules to ensure efficient operation. We promptly despatch our engineers to provide first response assistance following customer reports or the detection of failures by our video centers.
We also perform repair work and corrective maintenance on our customers’ systems when requested or in cases where routine or first response maintenance work identifies the need for spot work. We also perform statutory technical safety checks on plants and systems.

Full Service

In addition to the traditional hosting and maintenance services typically provided by independent tower companies, we also offer a comprehensive turnkey package of advanced technology television network management services, as we currently do for network operator Mediaset Group and other leading Italian network operators. This full service offering includes multiple interconnected activities addressed to:

Network planning, design, implementation and management
Digital signal transmission services to broadcast sites
Equipment hire if required
Certification and control of geographical coverage
Head End design and operation

We offer guarantees of technical/operating support, alignment with evolving technology and, if required, the development of the relative Head End platforms. The Full Service package can even include contribution traffic management, because EI TOWERS has its own satellite and optical fiber network infrastructure. EI TOWERS main customers are national and macro regional network operators, allowing them to fully outsource the management of network services and so focus their resources on content development. This model opens up the television broadcast market to new players that lack experience and their own technical network infrastructure, allowing them to offer their own TV content or make part of their transmission capacity available for use by third party pure content providers.

Provision of DTT transmission capacity to local television publishers

As part of the refarming process of the 700 MHz band, EI Towers participated in the tender procedures called by MISE for the assignment of rights of use of the frequencies for digital terrestrial television service in the local area, winning the rights for the implementation of networks in the following Technical Areas:

AT 01 – Piedmont (Level I network – Channels 21 and 41)

AT 02 – Valle d’Aosta (Level I network – Channel 27 and Level I network – Channel 31)

AT 03 – Lombardy and Eastern Piedmont (Level I Network – Channel 22)

AT 04 a – Autonomous Province of Trento (Level I Network – Channel 41)

AT 07 – Liguria (Level I network – Channel 27)

AT 08 – Emilia Romagna (Level I Network – Channel 32 and 29)

AT 09 – Tuscany (Level I Network – Channel 41)

AT 11 – Marche (Level I Network – Channel 42)

AT 12 – Lazio (Level I Network – Channel 27)

AT 13 – Abruzzo and Molise (Level I Network – Channel 29 and 32)

AT 14 – Campania (Level I Network – Channel 41 and Level II Network – Channel 31 in the provinces of Avellino, Benevento, Caserta, Naples and Salerno)

AT 16 – Calabria (Level I network – Channel 32)

AT 18 – Sardinia (Level I network – Channel 39 and 41)

EI Towers, on account of the experience gained in the radio and television sector and with its new role as local television network operator, in December 2021, in line with the timing defined by the ministerial road map, activated the first local television network in Sardinia, thus marking the beginning of the transition to the new digital terrestrial.

The network, entirely designed and built by EI Towers, consists of 40 equipments, which ensures a coverage of the population of over 90%, is based on a centralized head-end at the Headquarters of Lissone and transfers the contents of more than 15 providers of local audiovisual media services (FSMA) to the Sardinian territory.

The commitment of EI Towers, for the completion of the transition process to the new digital terrestrial television by local broadcasters, continued during 2022 with the implementation of additional networks and the provision of the required transmission capacity to the FSMA.

Contracts and economic conditions for national DVB-T broadcasters

As provided by the Italian Anti-Trust Authority (Autorita’ Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato) under Resolution C12245 – F2I S.G.R./PERSIDERA no. 27984 dated November 14th 2019, EI Towers publicly discloses standard contract and economic conditions for national DVB-T broadcasters. EI Towers within the terms and conditions of the antitrust Resolution is also amenable to entering into negotiations with all customers in order to identify contractual terms and conditions that can lead to a reciprocal and increasingly greater working relationship.

Contracts

In compliance with the conditions prescribed by the Italian Anti-Trust Authority (Autorita' Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato) under Resolution C12245 - F2I S.G.R./PERSIDERA no. 27984 dated November 14th 2019, this section makes available the text formats of the contracts that EI Towers applies to national DVB-T broadcasters.

Economics Conditions

In compliance with the conditions prescribed by the Italian Anti-Trust Authority (Autorita' Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato) under Resolution C12245 - F2I S.G.R./PERSIDERA no. 27984 dated November 14th 2019, this section makes available the public lists and economic conditions applied by EI Towers to national DVB-T broadcasters.