EI Towers, leading company for television broadcasting in Italy

EI Towers is an independent Italian company leader in the management of network infrastructures for TV, radio and telecommunications. It manages a total of approximately 2,400 sites distributed throughout Italy, consisting of technological facilities, poles and masts dedicated to hosting transmission equipment and signal broadcasting antennas.
EI Towers mainly offers services in the radio and television broadcasting field, and has really stood out for the construction of the important International Broadcast Center (IBC) of Lega Serie A and in the Internet of Things Low Power Wide Area segment thanks to a dedicated network infrastructure managed through the subsidiary company EIT Smart.

Television broadcasting

Television broadcasting is the core of the services offered by EI Towers, a company that has allowed millions of viewers to enjoy their favorite television programs for over 50 years. The company has played a leading role by actively participating in international regulatory discussions and in the standardization process. Furthermore, it played a significant role in the conversion of television networks from analogue to digital technology, collaborating with its partners and customers to ensure compliance with scheduled times and to minimize inconvenience during the reconfiguration of television coverage.
EI Towers, on the front line of the evolution process of the digital terrestrial platform, offers television network operators a vast range of integrated services at high quality levels, customized according to different needs. The company is able to manage the entire network, from planning to the signal transport service to the broadcasting and equipment rental sites.

The services offered

1. Hosting and maintenance
EI Towers offers television network operators a hosting service which consists in housing the customer’s equipment in suitable rooms (or even outdoors) near the pole or masts and installing the relevant transmitting systems on the structure. EI Towers also offers routine maintenance and first response services for the hosted equipment and transmitting systems. Routine maintenance includes the periodic control of the correct functioning of the systems through interventions aimed at maintaining their perfect state of efficiency; first response on the other hand includes diagnostics and repair of the functions of the systems following a malfunction.

2. Full service
EI Towers, in addition to the traditional hosting and maintenance services typical of an independent tower company, also offers a high-tech “Full Service” package. EI Towers provides a complete “turnkey” service for the management of the television network, as currently provided to the network operator of the MFE Group, to Persidera and to other national network operators of primary standing. The “Full Service” is characterized by a series of multiple activities connected to each other in order to offer the planning, design, construction and management of a network with a specific level of coverage chosen by the customer, as well as the service of digital signal transportation to the broadcasting sites. EI Towers also guarantees the relating technical/operational support, monitoring of technological evolution and, possibly, the development of Head End platforms.
The “Full Service” could also extend to the contribution traffic management service, because EI Towers can use its own satellite and fiber optic network infrastructures. Generally speaking, the “Full Service” offer can be considered as an integral and complete service of all the aforementioned activities, yet it is still possible to create a bouquet of tailor-made services, according to the specific needs expressed by the customers.

3. Transmission capacity for local television publishers
After the reorganization of the spectrum linked to the destination of the “band 700” to 5G services (refarming), EI Towers has been designated as the assignee of the first level networks in the following 13 Technical Areas:

1. Technical area 01 – Piedmont (Level I network n.1 – Channels 21 for the provinces of Alessandria, Biella, Novara, Verbania and Vercelli – channel 41 for the provinces of Torino, Cuneo and Asti)
2. Technical area 02 – Valle d’Aosta (Level I network n. 1 and 2– Channel 27 and 31)
3. Technical area 03 – Lombardy and Eastern Piedmont (Level I Network n. 1 – Channel 22)
4. Technical area 04A – Autonomous Province of Trento (Level I Network n. 3 – Channel 41)
5. Technical area 07 – Liguria (Level I network n.1 – Channel 27)
6. Technical area 08 – Emilia Romagna (Level I Network n.1 – Channel 32 and 29)
7. Technical area 09 – Tuscany (Level I Network n. 1– Channel 41)
8. Technical area 11 – Marche (Level I Network n.1 – Channel 42)
9. Technical area 12 – Lazio (Level I Network n.1 – Channel 27)
10. Technical area 13 – Abruzzo and Molise (Level I Network n.1 – Channel 29 for the province of L’Aquila and Isernia – Channel 32 for the province of Chieti, Pescara, Teramo and Campobasso)
11. Technical area 14 – Campania (Level I Network n. 1– Channel 41)
12. Technical area 16 – Calabria (Level I network n. 1– Channel 32)
13. Technical area 18 – Sardinia (Level I network n.1 – Channel 41 for the provinces of Nuoro, Ogliastra, Oristano, Olbia-Tempio and Sassari – Channel 39 for the provinces of Cagliari, Carbonia-Iglesias and Medio Campitano).

EI Towers was also awarded the user rights of Technical Area no. 14 (Campania), Level II Network n. 1 (Channel 31 for the provinces of Naples, Caserta, Avellino and Salerno).

EI Towers makes the required transmission capacity available to the FSMAs, guaranteeing a service quality level aligned with that offered to the main national networks.
All this is made possible thanks to careful research and development, strong know-how consolidated over time, and a highly qualified team distributed throughout Italy.

The results achieved: a process of maximum efficiency

Thanks to the expertise gained over the years, our highly qualified team and a one-of-a-kind infrastructure, EI Towers has achieved exciting results:

• Optimization of the resources involved in terms of reduction in the number of signal broadcasting systems;
• Increase in the quality level of networks created in DVT-2 technology (currently operated in the transitional phase in DVBT-1 technology);
• Possibility for FSMAs, previously vertically integrated, to go on air by requesting transmission capacity from network operators. This has allowed them to focus on the editorial activity with the creation of quality content that enhances the historical, artistic, natural, culinary and social heritage of the regions in which they operate, thus contributing to enhancing local excellence, raising awareness of environmental issues and promoting integration and social cohesion;
• Compliance with the frequency release plan for 5G and solution of interference problems with foreign countries.

EI Towers, a company that constantly looks to the future, is the ideal partner for television publishers who need broadcasting services. If you are interested in using our services, send an email to commerciale-EIT@eitowers.it. We will be glad to offer you all our support.