From business case to technology, enterprises need in-building cellular, but how do you find the solution that’s best for you?
Often referred to as the fourth utility, right up there with electricity, water and gas, in-building cellular coverage is an imperative for a modern enterprise. Sales teams can’t rely on VoWi-Fi when a fuzzy connection with a client could make or break a contract win–did he say $1,000 or $100,000? Commercial real estate owners lose leases and renewals if brokers or agents don’t see four bars on their smartphones when touring a facility. And as the internet of things promises to unlock new levels of building efficiencies and 5G looms, now is the time to invest.
There’s another dynamic at play here too. The in-building cellular spend is shifting from carriers to enterprises. Carriers have a limited pool of capital that has to be reserved for high-priority customers and marquee venues like stadia, transport hubs and major commercial buildings like One World Trade Center, for example. That leaves what’s commonly called the middleprise–a coin termed by Solid, so credit given where credit is due–having to fend for themselves. Aside from the market education gap, this forces OEMs to work to bring cost and complexity out of a fairly broad solution set that includes active and passive distributed antenna systems, small cells, small cells used as a signal source to feed a DAS, and signal boosters, which are becoming increasingly automated and powerful.
The point is, solving for in-building cellular is a difficult process. Alright, exposition–check. Now, segue into shameless self-promotion: I’m headed out to Park City, Utah, on Sunday to moderate a panel at the WilsonPro Partner Summit to dig into these issues with a great group of panelists:
- Wilson Electronics CEO Bruce Lancaster
- US Cellular Director, Product Management, Scott Scheuber
- Tessco Technologies VP, IoT Innovations and Advanced Solutions, Bill Moten
- Verizon Manager of Network Solutions and Systems Eric McClanahan
The panel session on Tuesday afternoon will be live streamed, and you can register to watch right here.
