Freshwave, a connectivity infrastructure-as-a-service provider, warns that UK economic growth is at risk due to current indoor connectivity limitations. According to the Freshwave Mobile Connectivity ROI Index, which surveyed 900 C-suite executives and IT decision-makers, organisations (100+ employees) collectively lose £100 billion annually – an average of £4.6 million each – by failing to fully take advantage of the available connectivity services. Respondents believe better indoor mobile connectivity could reduce that impact by as much as 70 per cent, equating to added value of £70 billion per year across the UK economy.

The findings come at a time when Keir Starmer’s Labour government is looking to call upon the transformative opportunity of AI and other advanced technologies to help deliver the economic growth promised at the election.

The vast majority (87 per cent) of the participating organisations reported poor current indoor connectivity causes daily disruptions. Investing in better in-building mobile connectivity, such as 4G or 5G coverage, would reduce disruption and support revenue growth, increase operational performance, and drive higher customer satisfaction, generating £3.2 million in annual productivity gains per organisation. Building layouts and construction materials, such as energy efficient glass, often block outdoor mobile signal from penetrating buildings, leaving people inside unable to use voice and data services on their mobile devices as they need to and leading to drops in productivity and satisfaction.

Simon Frumkin, CEO of Freshwave, commented: “The UK economy simply cannot afford to lose £100 billion every year. That is why massive investments have been made in digital infrastructure over the past decade. We must now build upon this platform and ensure seamless mobile connectivity extends to wherever people want to use it. The prize will be £70 billion of added value for businesses, so it’s little wonder the majority expect to invest in mobile technology over the next two years.

“Working alongside the UK’s mobile network operators, we’re at the forefront of helping businesses reap the full economic benefits of this decade-long investment. 4G/5G connectivity is going to enable transformative technologies across every sector, benefiting organisations and the economy both today and for years into the future.”

The public sector is the most affected by indoor connectivity dead zones, losing £46 billion annually, with potential gains of £336 billion not being realised. The professional and financial services sector follows, losing £246 billion annually, with a potential gain of £176 billion from better indoor mobile connectivity. As the nation’s financial and governmental hub, London stands to gain the most from improved indoor mobile connectivity (£146 billion), followed by the South East (£136 billion) and the Midlands (£106 billion).

As the UK continues to wrestle with its long-standing productivity problem, the majority of respondents (62 per cent) identified workforce productivity as being the primary beneficiary of improved indoor mobile connectivity. But as well as other immediate gains from better indoor signal such as financial performance (57 per cent), operational efficiency (56 per cent), and customer satisfaction (52 per cent), respondents also saw longer term benefits such as AI-driven use cases, automation use cases and personalised experiences. They also believe as little as five minutes of poor connectivity per day translated to a 1 per cent annual loss in productive time.

By investing in addressing indoor mobile dead zones, organisations expected to uncover £29.6 billion in annual productivity gains – equivalent to 1.6 per cent of their annual revenue or budget over the short term. CEOs in particular expected productivity gains equivalent to 2.1 per cent of their annual revenue or budget by harnessing real-time analytics, tracking assets more accurately, and enabling intelligent applications for employees and customers.

Recognising the clear benefits of eliminating indoor mobile signal dead zones, 66 per cent of respondents expect their connectivity budgets to increase over the next two years as they look to improve indoor service within a wide range of environments including stadiums, stations and hospitals.

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Tags: 5G, freshwave, UK