01 July 2017

Arqiva says that rather than the mobile network or user’s handset, it is the building itself that lies at the root cause of poor indoor coverage.

One in four workers in the UK would move jobs as a result of poor mobile signals in the office, according to Arqiva.

In a survey of 1,000 workers, the communications infrastructure specialist found that 49 per cent have experienced poor mobile coverage such as dropped calls or a lack of signal within their office building. Of those, 72 per cent said this happens every week, while 25 per cent said it was something they faced daily.

John Lillistone, Arqiva’s head of products for telecoms, says: “With 43 per cent of those we asked saying that poor mobile coverage does or would significantly impact their ability to do their job, and a quarter claiming it already causes them extreme levels of stress and frustration, indoor coverage is clearly not an issue that companies can afford to ignore.”

He adds that younger, ‘mobile first’ workers appear particularly intolerant of the growing problem – amongst generations X and Y, the survey revealed that the willingness to leave their job over poor coverage rose to 35 per cent.

When asked who they think is accountable for mobile coverage issues, 90 per cent cited their mobile network. However, responsibility was also distributed amongst a number of other parties, including the device itself (70 per cent), the IT manager (42 per cent) and the building designer (41 per cent).

Lillistone points out that it is in actual fact usually the building itself that lies at the root cause of poor indoor mobile coverage: “You’d be surprised by the extent to which modern building materials, such as insulation and double glazing, can hamper signal.”

He says that as the UK battles to become a 5G leader, networks, architects, builders and employers all have to work together to understand their role in finding a solution for current indoor coverage “woes.”