Poor indoor mobile connectivity could be costing the UK economy as much as £103 billion a year, according to C-suite and senior IT decision-makers surveyed by Freshwave for its Mobile Connectivity ROI Index 2026.
In the public sector alone, the loss could be as high as £63 billion. The connectivity infrastructure-as-a- service provider surveyed 900 C-suite and IT decision-makers from UK public and private sector organisations to gauge their views on indoor mobile connectivity and potential gains from eliminating coverage ‘not- spots’ within buildings.
Almost nine out of 10 (89%) claim they experience indoor connectivity disruptions every day, in large part due to the building themselves and building materials such as energy-efficient glazing and insulation that can impact mobile signal strength.
On average, 23% of decision-makers rate their indoor 4G or 5G coverage as average or poor, rising from 19% in London to 27% in the North of England, 28% in the Midlands, 34% in Scotland and Wales, 37% in the East Midlands and 39% in Yorkshire and the Humber.
Simon Frumkin, CEO of Freshwave, says that improved indoor connectivity is essential as real-time, continuous data presents the biggest opportunity to drive efficiency gains, accelerate digital transformation and make the most of AI. He said: “AI presents one of the greatest opportunities we have to grow the economy, and the efficiencies it promises rest on the connectivity underpinning many of its functions.
Treating indoor mobile coverage as essential infrastructure is what turns that opportunity into results…Indoor connectivity is essential now, in the same bracket as power and water. AI is simply making that increasingly impossible to ignore.”
Almost all those surveyed (96%) say AI adoption is influencing their investment in connectivity and seven in ten expect their indoor connectivity budget to grow over the next two years. More than half (57%) of organisations in the North-West are considering an indoor 4G or 5G upgrade to support AI applications.
Freshwave partners with mobile network providers, central and local government and real estate companies to bring assured 4G and 5G connectivity to offices, public buildings, campuses and city streets.
https://freshwavegroup.com/roi
