Lampedusa is Italy’s southernmost point. More than 200 kilometres separate it from Sicily, while Tunisia is just over 100 kilometres away.
Here, on a strip of land stretching out into the open sea, stands one of the most strategic assets in INWIT’s network: a tower that ensures continuity of communications even when distance, weather conditions and isolation make everything more complex.
In particular, INWIT’s infrastructure supports Europe’s longest microwave radio link: a 147-kilometre connection to Pantelleria, complemented by a second link of approximately 50 kilometres to Linosa. Deployed by telecommunications operators, these links ensure connectivity even across stretches of sea where no alternative connection is available.
When the submarine cable is not operational, INWIT’s tower and the operators’ microwave radio links keep people, services and institutions connected.
The tower also hosts equipment used by law enforcement agencies for security and monitoring activities in the sea, confirming its role as an essential asset in one of the country’s most strategic locations.
Over the past year, the Lampedusa tower has undergone major maintenance and upgrade work. A new structure was built alongside the existing tower and gradually replaced it. The previous structure has now been completely dismantled.
This investment is more than a technological upgrade. It means ensuring reliability and continuity of service in a setting where every operation requires careful planning, specialised expertise and particularly complex logistics.
Technology, however, is not the whole story. In collaboration with Legambiente, an information panel dedicated to observing Eleonora’s falcon has been installed near the tower. The species finds an ideal summer nesting habitat among the island’s cliffs before beginning its autumn migration to Madagascar.
The tower of Lampedusa is part of INWIT’s broader day-to-day commitment to operating, maintaining and safeguarding more than 26,000 towers across Italy, from major metropolitan areas to the country’s most remote locations.
The story of Lampedusa illustrates what it means for INWIT to build infrastructure that creates value for the areas it serves: ensuring reliable connections even where distances are greater, conditions more challenging and continuity of service is not merely important, but essential.
