In the commercial real estate sector, tenant experience is driving the industry to become a total service provider. A major requirement for positive tenant experience is ‘always-on’ connectivity. Within commercial developments, there is still ambiguity over who is responsible for dedicated indoor mobile boosting to ensure guaranteed and quality 4G and 5G connectivity. So, is it the responsibility of the tenant, landlord or mobile network operator (MNO) to pay?
The solution lies in various models that satisfy both landlord and tenant. A good example of a delivery model that achieves building-wide mobile coverage and apportions costs sensibly is one we are seeing more and more.
It delivers coverage sequentially with pro-rated investment from landlord and tenant in a very practical way.
Here are the steps:
- Mobile coverage enablement: the landlord takes the first step to digitise its building. It pays for an indoor coverage survey, iBwave JOTS-NHIB-compliant design that secures approval by the MNOs and installs core network Open RAN infrastructure. This landlord investment will be somewhere between 5% and 15% of total system solution price. An MNO-approved design is the core requirement to get a building connected. This option has the lowest financial impact on the landlord but allows them to provide the foundation for this service to their tenants and market their building as mobile-ready by achieving WiredScore accreditation.
- Covering the basics: the landlord installs at their cost a JOTS-NHIB-compliant Open RAN 4G solution, which will radiate cellular coverage within their demise. The system is cabled throughout the core areas.
- Extending coverage: tenants who lease space in the building can connect to the live system already radiating in the common areas, which the landlord has installed. They will have to pay to extend the systems into their demise, but because the basics are already in place the cost is significantly reduced.
This shared cost and sequential mobile coverage system installation approach to solve real estate coverage makes financial sense to both parties, as no one party is overburdened with the cost.
Gearoid Collins is director of sales at Vilicom
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