Skip to main content
Facilitate Magazine: Informing Workplace and Facilities Management Professionals - return to the homepage Facilitate magazine logo
  • Search
  • Visit Facilitate Magazine on Facebook
  • Visit Facilitate Magazine on LinkedIn
  • Visit @Facilitate_Mag on Twitter
Visit the website of the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management Logo of the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management

Main navigation

  • Home
  • News
    • Comment
    • People
    • Reports
    • Research
  • Features
    • Analysis
    • Features
    • Round Tables
    • Webinars
  • Outsourcing
    • Contract Finder
    • Contracts
    • FM Business Models
    • Interviews
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Opinion
    • Procurement
    • Trends
  • Know-How
    • Explainers
    • Legal Updates
    • White Papers
  • Jobs
  • Topics
    • Workplace Services
      • Hospitality
      • Catering
      • Cleaning
      • Front of House
      • Grounds Maintenance
      • Helpdesk
      • Mailroom
      • Manned Guarding / Security
      • Pest Control
      • Washroom Services
      • Disaster Recovery
      • Specialist Services
    • Professional Performance
      • Behavioural Change
      • Continual Professional Development
      • Education
      • Management
      • Recruitment
      • Training
    • Workplace Performance
      • Benchmarking
      • Health & Wellbeing
      • Operational Readiness
      • Procurement
      • Security
      • Workplace User Experience
      • Workplace Culture
    • Compliance
      • Health & Safety
      • Risk & Business Continuity
      • Standards
      • Statutory Compliance
    • Building Services
      • Architecture & Construction
      • Asset Management
      • Building Controls
      • Building Fabric
      • Drinking Water
      • Fire Protection
      • HVAC
      • Landscaping
      • Mechanical & Electrical
      • Building Security
      • Water, Drainage & Plumbing
    • Technology
      • Building Information Modelling
      • CAFM
      • Data & Networks
      • Document Management
      • Information Management
      • Internet of Things (IoT)
      • Software & Systems
    • Energy management
      • Energy Management Systems
      • Electricity
      • Gas
      • Solar
      • Wind
    • Sustainability
      • Environmental Quality
      • Social Value
      • Waste Management
      • Recycling
    • Workspace Design
      • Agile Working
      • Fit-Out & Refurbishment
      • Inclusive Access
      • Lighting
      • Office Interiors
      • Signage
      • Space Planning
      • Storage
      • Vehicle Management / Parking
      • Washroom
    • Sectors
      • Corporate Office
      • Education
      • Healthcare
      • Manufacturing
      • International
      • Retail
      • Sports & Leisure
      • Regions
  • Buyers' Guide
Quick links:
  • Home
  • Facilitate Magazine Issues
  • April 2020
Know How
Sections
Explainers
Topics

Emergency call

Open-access content Monday 30th March 2020 — updated 10.20am, Friday 5th June 2020
Authors
Colin Abrey
© iStock

A lack of 4G coverage indoors could put critical communications in jeopardy, says Colin Abrey.

Good mobile connectivity is a number-one selling point for property owners. Real estate and leasing companies can get away with charging exorbitant rents, particularly in large, built-up areas, because tenants will not put up with a poor mobile signal at the top of a high-rise building. 
 

But what if reliable indoor coverage was a matter of life and death? This could become a reality as the launch date for the UK's new Emergency Services Network (ESN) nears.  
 

Poised to replace a legacy low-frequency Airwave network so our blue-light services can embrace AI-driven applications such as live video streaming, wearable tech or access control, the UK was on target to be one of the first countries globally to roll out a 4G LTE-based critical communications network. The project, however, is being hindered by infrastructure challenges and is at least three years behind schedule and millions of pounds over budget.
 

There is also the 5G question. Mission-critical communications demand ubiquitous coverage with sufficient data rates. To that end, the provision of reliable voice and data communications and the ability to deliver images and video to different locations are essential requirements.  
 

4G is a mature network that can reliably satisfy these requirements now. 5G, on the other hand, is years away from going mainstream. Not only that - many 5G applications are machine-to-machine-based and not applicable in a public safety context.

 

Challenges to overcome

A big challenge has been to facilitate a reliable mobile communications infrastructure in the first place, particularly inside buildings, because materials such as iron and steel, metallised glass, reinforced concrete or foil-lined partitions affect radio signals in different ways. The higher frequency 4G signals can't penetrate these structures as well - if at all. Losing connectivity when responding to an emergency is unacceptable. 
 

The way to overcome the problem is to bring the outside network inside using third-party boosters because mobile phone towers on their own are simply not up to the job. 
 

Making use of such equipment hasn't been plain sailing because of resistance from different stakeholders, particularly MNOs that perceived they posed a threat to existing spectrum assets. 
 

The situation had been exacerbated by regulation, which, until recently, made the use of supplementary technology such as mobile signal boosters illegal.

 

Positive change is coming

Luckily, this is no longer the case, owing to a relaxation in the mobile repeater laws by Ofcom in 2018. Property owners can now improve mobile coverage in their respective buildings using off-the-shelf signal boosters. The only caveat is that boosters must satisfy all technical requirements detailed by Ofcom in the IR2102 specification - but not many do. To be compliant, devices must be network-specific, network-safe and must not cause interference to any other networks.
 

The ESN project's overzealous goals have given building owners some welcome breathing space so they can take the necessary steps to make sure they are ESN-ready. Unlike its European counterparts, the UK Government is not offering any financial incentive to ensure reliable ESN in general mixed-use, residential or commercial buildings, leaving the moral dilemma regarding responsibility and culpability somewhat of a hot potato.
 

Most building owners will be unwilling to compromise personal safety and security, but the question remains as to how the mobile coverage quandary will be resolved in the longer term. Even though there are plans for portable coverage units to be made available, how effective will these be in practical terms and how will they be able to overcome the enduring indoor mobile coverage problem? 

Colin Abrey is vice-president of channel sales at Nextivity 

Facilitate Magazine April 2020 cover, showing a Post Office Tracked 24 label with the title 'Logistical Thinking'.
This article appeared in our April 2020 issue of Facilitate Magazine.
Click here to view this issue
Filed in
Know How
Also filed in
Content
Know How
Explainers
Topics

You might also like...

Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Linked in
  • Mail
  • Print

Today's top reads

 

Latest Jobs

Interim Sustainability Manager (12 month fix-term contract)

London (Central)
c.£60,000 per annum plus excellent benefits
Reference
59413

Regional Facilities Manager

Borehamwood
Circa £47,000 + Decent Package & opportunities
Reference
59410

Facilities Manager

Hertfordshire
Up to £75,000 + Decent Package
Reference
59408
See all jobs »

 

 

Sign up to our newsletter

News, jobs and updates

Sign up

Subscribe to print

Sign up to receive our bi-monthly magazine

Subscribe
Facilitate magazine cover, June 2020
​
FOLLOW US
@Facilitate_Mag
Facilitate Magazine
Facilitate Magazine
CONTACT US
Contact us
Tel: 020 7880 6200
​

IWFM

About IWFM
Become a member
Qualifications
Events

Information

Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
Cookie Policy
Think Green

Get in touch

Contact us
Advertise with us
Subscribe to Facilitate Magazine
Write for Facilitate Magazine

General

IWFM Jobs
Help

© 2023 • www.facilitatemagazine.com and Facilitate Magazine are published by Redactive Media Group. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any part is not allowed without written permission.

Redactive Media Group Ltd, 71-75 Shelton Street, London WC2H 9JQ