Zinwave: 77% of Hospitality Workers Complain of Poor Indoor Cellular Coverage
The modern office building, hospital, retail establishment, or hotel is where cellular signals often go to die. This is mainly due to the nature of cellular signals combined with modern building techniques, says Zinwave, a provider of in-building wireless infrastructure solutions to eliminate coverage problems for cellular, public safety, and Wi-Fi users.
Until just a few years ago, carriers often made the investment in distributed antenna systems that boosted indoor cellular signal for their customers in certain venues such as sports arenas, large office complexes and airports. But with the proliferation of mobile devices, it’s all the carriers can do to keep up with the demand on their outdoor networks. They no longer have the time or the money to invest in indoor signal amplification. That responsibility has now fallen to the building’s owner or manager or the enterprise, especially if the business owns its own facility. The problem is, not many businesses know that this is where the responsibility lies which often leads to poor cell signals within buildings.
Zinwave commissioned a study of 1,000 workers to see who employees blamed for poor connections. Of the 1,000 U.S. office workers surveyed, 74 percent complained that they either “frequently” or “sometimes” had problems with poor cellular coverage in the workplace. The survey panel included office employees of a variety of ages who work in a variety of commercial buildings, ranging from urban office buildings to retail shopping centers, industrial facilities and medical buildings. For the hospitality industry in particular, 77 percent of workers complained of poor indoor cellular coverage at least part of the time. And if workers complain, guests will too.
In general, millennials are 58 percent more likely to blame their employer when there’s a connectivity issue. This should be of concern as this number will only continue to grow over time as younger generations who are even more connected to mobile devices begin to enter the workforce. Uninterrupted indoor cellular signal is going to be the expectation, and those younger generations aren’t going to work in buildings, or for employers, who can’t provide connectivity.
Hospitality employees are starting to look toward employers and building owners to fix the problem of poor indoor coverage. More than half of hospitality workers, 51 percent, blame someone other than the carrier. Increasingly, employees and customers will realize the burden on indoor coverage is no longer on the carriers and they will start making life decisions — like where to work, where to shop, and where to stay as a hotel guest — based on where they can get the most reliable coverage.
To read the full study, please click here.
Until just a few years ago, carriers often made the investment in distributed antenna systems that boosted indoor cellular signal for their customers in certain venues such as sports arenas, large office complexes and airports. But with the proliferation of mobile devices, it’s all the carriers can do to keep up with the demand on their outdoor networks. They no longer have the time or the money to invest in indoor signal amplification. That responsibility has now fallen to the building’s owner or manager or the enterprise, especially if the business owns its own facility. The problem is, not many businesses know that this is where the responsibility lies which often leads to poor cell signals within buildings.
Zinwave commissioned a study of 1,000 workers to see who employees blamed for poor connections. Of the 1,000 U.S. office workers surveyed, 74 percent complained that they either “frequently” or “sometimes” had problems with poor cellular coverage in the workplace. The survey panel included office employees of a variety of ages who work in a variety of commercial buildings, ranging from urban office buildings to retail shopping centers, industrial facilities and medical buildings. For the hospitality industry in particular, 77 percent of workers complained of poor indoor cellular coverage at least part of the time. And if workers complain, guests will too.
In general, millennials are 58 percent more likely to blame their employer when there’s a connectivity issue. This should be of concern as this number will only continue to grow over time as younger generations who are even more connected to mobile devices begin to enter the workforce. Uninterrupted indoor cellular signal is going to be the expectation, and those younger generations aren’t going to work in buildings, or for employers, who can’t provide connectivity.
Hospitality employees are starting to look toward employers and building owners to fix the problem of poor indoor coverage. More than half of hospitality workers, 51 percent, blame someone other than the carrier. Increasingly, employees and customers will realize the burden on indoor coverage is no longer on the carriers and they will start making life decisions — like where to work, where to shop, and where to stay as a hotel guest — based on where they can get the most reliable coverage.
To read the full study, please click here.