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15.18 Internet & Wi-Fi strategy: ‘neutral host’ or ‘carrier’?
As a Build to Rent Client the decision is who should own the system:
 a neutral host provider, such as IBM, enabling residents choice of providers, or a,
 carrier, such as Virgin, BT or Sky leaving you to pre-negotiate ‘fair rates’ for residents.
15.19 CommScope’s research reports suggest that a dedicated owned system could increase a commercial
buildings value by up to 28%, think shopping mall. The key considerations are:

 Resident choice, who owns the system, future revenue generation, guest access.

15.20 CommScope’s research of 60 professional designers and operators in Europe and the US suggests:
 87% agree it is imperative to have in-building cellular coverage,
 46% believed that recruitment of talented individuals would be easier,
 33% believed more visitors would be attracted,
 77% connected cellular provision to an increase in productivity,
 66% rated indoor wireless connectivity as 'essential' for employees.

In a large 'Build to Rent scheme' the aim is for visitors to become the next tenants, and where design
includes 'break out' spaces, work from home and enterprise areas - the options should not be ignored.

Wi-Fi Spark cost study: Neutral host vs Carrier
Neutral host Upfront investment for hardware cabling & software. ROI from income generation from data
solution Cost for an 8 floor building circa £65,000. Offers mining, advertising and charging
intelligent device analytics & cloud stored data subscribers between £20-£25/month.
collection which the landlord owns. Estimated 80% of residents need to
subscribe to breakeven.
Carrier No investment required from property owner. No income generated for the property
solution owner. The carrier company will
generate collect receive the subscribing
charges
15.21 In today’s ‘always-on’ digital environment a future proof strategy needs to consider 3G/4G cellular
connectivity as a basic utility alongside gas, electric, water and Wi-Fi. The explosion in high-speed,
bandwidth-hungry data traffic poses significant stress and capacity demands on cellular networks.

With an estimated 2BN smartphone users and 80% of digital traffic originating or terminating in
building studies suggest that only 2% of commercial buildings have reliable mobile capacity indoors.
Design considerations include facts such as low-emissivity energy conserving glass will make buildings
less receptive to mobile coverage from outside. Generally, size and scale is required to justify a ‘neutral
host’ system as demonstrated from the case Wi-Fi spark study.

15.22 Internet & Wi-Fi strategy : ‘neutral host’ installation
A neutral host would assume all financial, legal and technical responsibility for deploying and installing
the system. Post installation the ‘Build to Rent landlord’ would lease the system to one or more
operators arguably generating more revenue and more freedom for visitors to access their own carriers
network without the need to roam. Quantifiable ROI and flexibility enables building owners to take

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