- In-building cellular systems in many buildings across the U.S. are reaching end of life
- Mobile operators, who originally installed many of these systems, no longer want to deal with them
- That leaves building owners and enterprises to figure it out for themselves
The indoor wireless market is going through a big transition. Many enterprises are finding that their existing in-building cellular systems are aging out. And while those systems may have originally been installed for free by a mobile network operator (MNO), the business landscape has changed. Now, enterprises must upgrade their own systems at their own expense. And they’re at a bit of a loss because they don’t usually have in-house cellular experts.
Carriers that originally paid to install in-building distributed antenna systems (DAS) for enterprises are no longer willing to do so. That’s because when carriers installed the DAS, they had lucrative contracts with the building owner or the tenants within the building to provide mobile devices and connectivity. But over the years, many employees have been using their own devices for work as part of the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) trend.
Fierce Network Research recently published a report, “How enterprises are transforming indoor cellular networks,” sponsored by Ericsson, which explores the in-building cellular business from the perspective of enterprises.
For the report, Fierce spoke with Peter Cappiello, CEO of the system integration firm Future Technologies Venture. Cappiello said it’s necessary to educate building owners on why the MNOs are no longer providing in-building systems for free. “The big thing is the BYOD change,” he said. “If you’re not paying the carrier, how are they going to fund your building?”
We also spoke with Eric McClanahan, senior director for Private 5G Networks at Verizon, who added more context. He said historically, the MNOs saw these big enterprise spaces as opportunities to offload the larger public outdoor network. Going back 20 years, they would use site acquisition companies to find big skyscrapers or campus environments. And they would strike a deal with the property owner to provide a DAS system for free in exchange for space and power for their equipment.
“There was a mutually beneficial arrangement early on when cell phones started to really proliferate,” said McClanahan. “And that's how historically it has been addressed, up until I would say about two years ago.”
These days, MNOs are primarily focused on the huge, public-facing venues such as stadiums and airports. But in terms of the thousands of enterprise buildings that need wireless upgrades, the carriers have shifted their business models. They’ve had to invest billions of dollars in spectrum and deployment costs for 5G. In addition, the Covid pandemic drove many employees away from offices and into work-from-home environments. So, for a few years, there was less emphasis on in-building wireless. All this piles onto the previously mentioned trend toward BYOD.
With carriers less interested in providing in-building cellular coverage, that has left building owners on the hook to figure it out for themselves. And it’s quite a complicated problem to solve, both from a technical perspective as well as just figuring out where to seek help.
Matt Addicks, head of Product Marketing for Ericsson, said, “It can be really challenging to find a blueprint for an enterprise to say, ‘This is everything I need for my specific building.’ There are different deployment models, a lot of different architectures and a lot of different ecosystem players in the mix.”
In addition, each building requires a certain level of customization. And it takes time to upgrade an existing DAS or install a small-cell, neutral-host system — as long as 12 to 16 months.
But obviously, having good cell coverage in a building is critical. Just from a safety standpoint, people inside enterprises expect to be able to use their cell phones in emergencies, even if they’re in an underground parking garage or trapped in an elevator.
Get our free Fierce Network Research report to learn more about the considerations that building owners must think about, including understanding their existing coverage and deciding what type of in-building cellular system will meet their future needs.