Virtual insight into the occupation of telecom masts
Allinq Insite scans buildings, telecom masts, oil tanks and other assets to process them into virtual 3D models. A technology that is increasingly proving its added value and, thanks to the introduction of the Tower Information Modeling portal (TIM) by Allinq Insite, now is more concrete than ever. Mast owners can view, manage and rent out their assets in real time on the TIM portal. In Italy; where the commercial rental of masts to telecom operators and radio stations is very common, a real estate owner seized his opportunity. He had Allinq Insite conduct a pilot with two of his masts. Simon van Geest, Research & Development manager, took us -unfortunately virtually- to the Italian coastal town of Betteria Bergeggi, where the first pilot took place.
Logging in to the Italian telecom mast
A complete telecom mast by the sea will appear in the TIM portal. Simon: “Look, this is the mast, just like it is standing over there in Italy. We scanned it on location with our Lidar laser scanners and then worked it out in Revit 3D.” After a smooth tour around the mast, he zooms in, whereby more and more details become visible: the mast construction, the mounted dishes and antennas, the fixings… He continues: “We can scan and model as much detail as the customer needs. For some sites it is enough just to know which parts are present, other customers want to see exactly how a construction works down to the bolts, nuts and welds, so that they can link maintenance plans to it.”
Tower Information Modeling Portal (TIM)
In the TIM portal, Simon points out the most important parameters: “Here you can see the occupation of the mast.” The predominantly green sea side appears to be clearly less popular than the land side. Where customers of the Italian mast owner previously had to go through a weeks-long application process, potential tenants immediately see what is available on the portal. They can click on the free space and immediately see the weight, size, angle and price in the catalog and make their purchase. This is then processed in the model within 5 to 10 minutes and passed on to the lessor who can confirm it with an automated report and contract. Simon: “That zero touch lead time provides direct value to the owner.”
Being challenged by Dutch mast owners
Allinq Insite’s operations have not gone unnoticed. Various international mast owners are currently investigating the possibilities of the TIM portal. Now that more and more Dutch telecom operators are placing their masts with their own or external real estate companies, our own market also offers a lot of potential. Simon: “We are a young and innovative company who is more than happy to receive the questions and wishes of our customers. They inspire us regarding new features, which allows us to build our portal together. Links with financial systems, special contract structures, complex pricing models; we can do it all. For example, at the end of this month we will deliver an implementation for construction calculations. Technically really difficult, but that is precisely why it is so interesting. I therefore warmly welcome mast owners to challenge us!”