The silent giants.
Wooden masts look inconspicuous, but they carry an immense responsibility: they connect people through telecommunications. On average, they last 40 years, but with good quality wood and soil conditions, they can survive for over 50 years – some even longer, for up to a century.
Control is everything.
Every year, cablex inspects around 47,000 overhead line masts. The entire connection network is scrutinised every ten years. For masts that are already showing signs of damage and are located in vulnerable areas – such as near houses or pathways – an additional interim inspection is required. The regulations of the ESTI (Swiss Federal Inspectorate for Heavy Current Installations) stipulate precisely this ten-year cycle. After all, the masts are our above-ground telecommunications network, which secures our information exchange in rural and peripheral regions.
In search of clues.
And where is the oldest mast located? There are around 500,000 overhead line masts in Switzerland – so the search is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Daniel Schnetzer from cablex set out to find the oldest mast. In fact, masts dating back to 1934 were discovered during an inspection in Crémines (BE) – a whopping 91 years old!
In search of the oldest mast.
Old school vs. new regulations.
To make the masts last longer, they used to be treated with chemical impregnating agents. Today, stricter environmental protection requirements limit the service life of new wooden masts somewhat. Old masts often prove to be surprisingly resilient. Modern protection methods, such as "inoculation" against fungal infestation, have not yet become established.
Our Field Services teams continue the search for the oldest mast – no distance is too far and no terrain too challenging. They monitor the pylons in all weathers and ensure that Switzerland will remain reliably connected in the future.
