Telecom Italia and the Varese Province have signed an agreement aimed at the use of new non-invasive excavation techniques to create new infrastructure and enhance broadband services. The announcement was made today in the presence of Aldo Simeoni, Councillor for Traffic and Transport of the Varese Province, and Giovanni Moretto, head of North-West Area Access Operations of Telecom Italia.
The agreement implements Law 69 of 2009 “Provisions for economic development, simplification, competitiveness, as well as on civil proceedings” relative to the creation of broadband networks and it will be valid for two years. It aims to ensure the safety of all the operations to be carried out by Telecom Italia on the provincial roads in the area of Varese for the installation of broadband telecommunication networks, as regards both excavation techniques and ground restoration as well as future upgrades to existing systems.
In addition, the agreement will ensure the uniform use of innovative techniques and equipment that reduce the environmental impact and the cost of construction of telecommunications networks and the enhancement of broadband services in and around Pavia.
The so-called ““mini-trenches” will be just a few centimetres in width and only 30 centimetres in depth, and will allow the socio-environmental costs in terms of disruption for citizens and administrations to be reduced by 80%, accidents at work to be reduced by 67% and the time needed to create the telecommunications infrastructure to be cut by 80%.
The agreement signed today is also part of the anti-digital divide campaign promoted by the Lombardy regional government and assigned to Telecom Italia, aimed at the construction and development of broadband and ultra-broadband network infrastructure in order to eliminate the digital divide in 50 municipalities of the Varese Province by mid-2013. The construction of broadband infrastructure and, above all, the dissemination of the services it enables, will greatly boost further economic growth throughout the Varese Province.
“With this agreement we are creating a network in many ways," states Aldo Simeoni, Councillor for Traffic and Transport of the Varese Province, “and the provincial government is very pleased with the synergy set up with Telecom Italia, thanks to our common goals and the desire to provide more services to our citizens. The efforts of Telecom Italia are a priority for our government, and we have simplified the authorisation process in order to make the work on provincial roads easier and faster. And that's not all. We have also been assured that the work sites will have no significant impact on traffic nor on infrastructure, since non-invasive construction methods will be used.”
“At a time when the development of network infrastructure and broadband telecommunications services are a strategic asset for the country's growth,” says Gianni Moretto, Northwest Area Access Operations Manager of Telecom Italia, “this important Agreement strengthens the synergy and cooperation between Telecom Italia and the Province of Varese as we are looking to face the future together. It also promotes the use of innovative excavation technologies with low environmental impact, mini-trenches for example, which reduce the inconvenience to citizens caused by road works and the risks associated with installation, to the advantage of safety in the workplace."
Varese, 8 November 2012
