Digital infrastructures for increasingly smart hospitals: the DAS coverage project in healthcare in the province of Como and Lecco presented

Thanks to multi-operator digital infrastructures, INWIT efficiently contributes to the healthcare digitalization process

The press conference dedicated to the presentation of the new high-capacity coverage projects for indoor voice and data (DAS – Distributed Antenna System), planned for the hospitals in the provinces of Como and Lecco, took place in Erba (Como).

The event was attended by the Undersecretary of the Presidency of the Council for technological innovation, Alessio Butti, Diego Galli, Director General of INWIT, Dr. Mariella Enoc, Special Prosecutor of the Valduce Hospital in Como, Luca Filippo Maria Stucchi, General Director of ASST Lariana and Gianluca Peschi, Social and Health Director of ASST Lecco.

The installation of the DAS system: an important step towards making hospital facilities excellent

The installation of the INWIT DAS system represents a fundamental step towards making local hospital facilities excellent in the field of healthcare innovation and connectivity.

Thanks to this internal antenna system, the hospitals of Como and Lecco will be able to benefit from stable and advanced coverage of the 4G and 5G mobile networks, essential to guarantee rapid and reliable communications and increasingly connected and integrated healthcare in all the different hospital departments, also in view of the implementation of the electronic health record.

During the conference, Undersecretary Alessio Butti thanked everyone for the investment made and declared:

“With the DAS we are making the Como-Lecco area a point of reference for innovation and connectivity in healthcare”, finally adding: “Now the hospitals of the two provinces have cutting-edge infrastructures available to facilitate the use of networks advanced furniture, improve healthcare and promote innovation in the medical industry. This is an achievement to be proud of.“

Diego Galli – General Director of INWIT also intervened, stating:

“With our multi-operator digital infrastructures we effectively contribute to the digitalisation process of healthcare too. Hospitals are places where secure, seamless connectivity that allows you to communicate for both work and personal purposes is more critical than ever. Having hospital facilities without connectivity is unthinkable today: it is essential that patients, family members and healthcare workers use data and voice effectively. The opportunity to develop this project arose from sharing with Undersecretary Butti the implementation of health initiatives in the area of ​​Como and Lecco which, as INWIT, we are carrying out throughout Italy and which today involve over 130 hospitals. It is the continuation of our investment plan aimed at improving connectivity, to support mobile operators, both outdoor and indoor.”

The other guests present at the press conference also spoke. Mariella Enoc, Special Prosecutor of the Valduce Hospital in Como underlined:

“The mission of the Valduce Hospital has always been, as its Founder stated, “to treat the sick, but with a big heart. Today the care of patients also involves the need to invest and equip oneself with cutting-edge tools in the technological, IT fields ” and digital, for this reason our hospital, like other healthcare facilities, has taken advantage of and is grateful for the opportunity offered to it to join the “DAS Project”, in the belief that with this membership it is offering an opportunity, a better service to patients, citizens and its operators.”

The General Director of ASST Lariana Luca Stacchi spoke about the importance of the innovations brought by new technologies in hospital structures, reiterating:

“The innovations linked to new technologies must also be used by hospitals and healthcare facilities which, just think of the development of telemedicine, must be increasingly interconnected and digitalised”, who then concluded: “Let’s not forget the needs of hospitalized patients and their families and the employees themselves“.

These are the considerations of Marco Trivelli, General Director of the ASST of Lecco:

“The hospital facilities of the Lecco ASST, in particular the Merate facility, have poor UMTS signal coverage within the facilities themselves. The project represents an important opportunity to enhance signal coverage, thus guaranteeing the possibility of promoting intra- and extra-hospital communications, especially for patients and relatives.”

INWIT DAS projects launched in the main hospitals of Como and Lecco

There are several DAS coverage system projects launched by INWIT in hospitals:

• Sant’Anna Hospital: over 400 remote DAS units, also in 5G, and micro-antennas and a coverage of over 75,000 square metres. The operator Vodafone is active, while TIM is expected to be activated by the end of the year.
• Erba-Renaldi Hospital: it is equipped with approximately 80 remote DAS units and micro-antennas and a coverage of over 12,000 square metres. Vodafone and TIM are expected to activate by the end of the year.
• Manzoni Hospital: over 150 DAS remote units and micro-antennas, covering more than 81,000 square metres. The activation of the operators is expected by the end of the year.
• Merate Hospital: equipped with approximately 300 remote DAS units and micro-antennas for a coverage of almost 41,000 square metres, with operators expected to be active by the end of the year.
• Valduce Hospital in Como: the facility has joined the DAS project and is close to starting the activation of this technology.

DAS network: INWIT continues its expansion process at a national level. With over 210,000 covered square meters and over 1,200 beds, the healthcare facilities in Como and Lecco join a network of over 130 Italian hospitals that have already developed this technology thanks to INWIT DAS digital infrastructures.