Digita’s rooftop services help properties put their unoccupied space to good use to achieve better connections
Finns’ ever-growing need for better connections calls for new solutions. People in Finland have become accustomed to consuming increasing amounts of data. How do we meet the growing demand and how can we develop connections in a cost-effective and environmentally conscious way?
Ari-Pekka Ainonen is in charge of Digita’s Site Services, which are responsible for the rental of mast and equipment spaces and the management of rooftop base stations – Digita’s rooftop service. The fact that masts improve coverage and the quality of connections is likely self-evident to many, but fewer people are aware that normal properties can also be used for these purposes.
Benefitting property owners, operators, users and the immediate area
One of the key goals of Digita’s rooftop service is to help property owners make use of unoccupied space on their premises to improve connection quality in the property itself and its immediate vicinity.
However, the rooftop service also brings a number of other benefits to Digita’s customers, and the improved connection quality is not the only reason to get a rooftop base station. The rooftop service allows property owners to focus on their own core business – managing the property. Digita’s service gives property owners a clear picture of who the base station installed in the property belongs to and where it is located. This means the property’s unused square metres can be put to good use and the owner can increase their revenue without making any additional investments.
Ainonen also emphasises that the property owner is not the only beneficiary, as, depending on the location, telecom operators may also be able to use the base stations. With rooftops across Finland being used, planning and setup become a quick process. The people using the property, such as residents and employees, benefit from the base station because it improves coverage in the property. In addition to this, the immediate area around the property also benefits from improved coverage. “The significance of digital infrastructure to the comfort of living and working in properties has grown as Finns have gotten used to consuming large amounts of data wirelessly. The demand is significant, and Digita is meeting it,” Ainonen says.
The future looks bright
The need for improved connections and living comfort has been on the rise for a long time, and this trend is not slowing – on the contrary, it is accelerating. Growing demand was evident in Digita’s operations last year.
“We signed a number of new contracts last year. Digita’s rooftop services have become a natural part of properties’ maintenance and development strategies. Good connections may even give some properties a competitive advantage and will almost certainly become an even more important aspect in the future,” Ainonen says.
According to Ainonen, the increasing density of networks and the greater demands placed on them will lead to even better utilisation of rooftop stations in the future.
“Because networks are becoming denser, the use of rooftop stations will increase several times over in the coming years, and Digita has a natural and central role in this development. We want to use rooftop base stations to make digital infrastructure available on a wide scale and at a high quality.”
This year, Digita’s rooftop services will focus specifically on municipal and city centres, and we also want to do our part in solving the challenges that come with the new wellbeing services counties. However, Ainonen emphasises that the focus of operations will continue to be on offering excellent high-quality services to all customers.
“We serve all our customers on equal terms. Our service is transparent and is always tailored to the customer’s needs.”