Düsseldorf - Vantage Towers, a leading tower company in Europe, is building North Rhine-Westphalia's first sustainable wooden-structured telecommunication mast in the town of Neunkirchen (Siegerland). The 40-metre-high Ecopol tower is expected to be erected in early 2025 in the Neunkirchen district of Wiederstein next to the NeunkirchenBurbach railway line, enabling broadband mobile communications in the region for the first time. The wooden-structured mast is designed in a way that multiple mobile network operators can install their equipment. The Ecopol tower is manufactured by the Finnish company Ecotelligent.

Together with the municipality of Neunkirchen, Vantage Towers evaluated various alternative locations in terms of the necessary network planning and technical requirements. As a result, a site owned by the municipality met all the relevant criteria for providing optimum mobile communications coverage for the Wiederstein district and the adjacent railway line. To guarantee the long-term operation of the infrastructure, the municipality of Neunkirchen decided to offer the land for sale to the tower operator at fair market conditions. The purchase agreement is expected to be signed in October. Buying land as an alternative to renting allows Vantage Towers to invest in mobile coverage for communities in the long term.

With the construction of wooden structured telecommunication infrastructure, Vantage Towers, together with Ecotelligent, is marking the beginning of a more sustainable mobile communications industry and digitalisation. According to the manufacturer, the Ecopol towers, which are built from recyclable wood, have a significantly lower carbon footprint than comparable masts made of steel or concrete. In addition, they have an attractive, modern design and blend in better with their surroundings - which increases the acceptance of telecommunication infrastructure among the population.

Christian Hillabrant, CEO of Vantage Towers: "At Vantage Towers, sustainability and digitalisation are not contradictions, but go very much hand in hand. I am very pleased that we are now also building a wooden-structured mast in North Rhine-Westphalia and would like to thank the municipality of Neunkirchen for its active support. The community had actively sought the construction of a wooden mast. The excellent cooperation with the municipality is a prime example of how the mobile communications rollout in rural areas can succeed."

Dr Bernhard Baumann, Mayor of Neunkirchen: "With Vantage Towers' wooden mast project, I am delighted that Neunkirchen is benefiting in several ways: Our community will finally have access to fast mobile communications and, with the first wooden mast in North Rhine-Westphalia, is at the same time a pioneer for more sustainable digitalisation. In addition, with the revenue from the sale of the land, we can make important investments for the future of our community, from which all citizens will benefit".

Vantage Towers is continuously testing new technologies and materials to optimize its infrastructure, make it more sustainable and reduce resource consumption. In May of this year, the tower operator built Germany's first wooden-structured telecommunications mast, a 30- metre-high Ecopol tower, in Bechtolsheim, Germany. Another Ecopol tower is to be completed this year in Leiwen - also in Germany. In Neunkirchen, the 40-metre version of the woodenstructured mast will be used for the first time in Germany. [End]