A fifth of business owners expect property landlords to provide indoor mobile coverage
A fifth of business owners expect property landlords to provide indoor mobile coverage according to the ‘Building Connections: Indoor Mobile Coverage Study’ report, commissioned by Vilicom. Rather than being seen as an unwelcome demand, this actually represents a huge opportunity for property developers to increase the value of their assets and maximise occupancy rates as businesses struggle to resolve their indoor coverage woes.
19% of businesses in the UK have tried and failed to deploy an indoor coverage solution because they couldn’t find a provider or had no idea where to start looking for help. However, with 41% of business owners saying that they would be willing to start paying to improve indoor mobile coverage, property owners and landlords could capitalise on this demand for indoor coverage.
“Indoor mobile coverage can no longer be the last consideration, or worse, not considered at all in the initial budget when constructing new buildings or choosing to rent office space. While it isn’t necessarily a property developer or landlord’s responsibility, providing indoor mobile coverage as part of a standard offer could significantly increase the interest in, and value of, a property,” commented Seán Keating, CEO at Vilicom.
Industry figures show that indoor coverage could increase a property’s value by 28% on average, meaning that a £25m office building could be worth £7m more. It also found respondents felt that if indoor mobile coverage was improved then there would be an increase in workforce productivity (77%), they would be able to recruit more talented individuals (46%) and, depending on the business, attract more visitors (39%).
“Property developers and owners don’t think twice about making sure there is gas, electricity, water and broadband in new build or rental buildings, and don’t need to know about what goes into making that happen – mobile coverage needs to be considered in exactly the same way, not as an unnecessary cost. Speaking to a reputable provider can be all it takes to ensure high-quality coverage across an entire facility,” continues Keating.
The ‘Building Connections: Indoor Mobile Coverage Study’ is available to download here. This has been launched alongside Vilicom’s new Building Connections service, the first indoor mobile coverage solution designed with the building owner in mind, which is now available across the UK & Ireland.
