TECH TIPS
Is Your Property Ready for the 5G Epidemic? With contributions from Rich George and JD Wright
Managed Wi-Fi is the new “fourth utility.”
Running water, gas, and electricity – in the past, these were what one needed to survive in their new apartment. Cable television, phone service (land or mobile), and internet were the “nice to have” utilities. Now Wi-Fi and mobile phone service are king, and for most American households they are not optional. This is the reason multifamily operators must pay attention to the “5G Epidemic.” We cannot “sit this one out.” We have all experienced “dead spots.” We encounter “dead spots” more frequently in large buildings with a lot of concrete and metal. These are the places where cell signals cannot reach because the building itself is too big and thick. We can all agree that “dead spots” are annoying and they impact our behaviors and habits. This problem is difficult now, but with the oncoming 5G networks, this problem is about to become an epidemic. The 5G signal or network behaves differently than the original 3G, 4G, or LTE signals. This new signal, as amazing as it is regarding speed and latency, cannot penetrate an insulated piece of glass, much less block, brick, metal, wood, insulation, or other common 20thcentury building materials. Traditionally, the nation’s wireless carriers have focused on outdoor, large geographic coverage, primarily by building big cell towers that can blast signals across a
neighborhood or small city. That approach has worked with the former iterations of wireless signals. This approach does not work with the new 5G signal. A new approach to the way networks are built and interact is now required. This 5G epidemic creates a whole new challenge for real estate owners and management professionals. Most people are sitting back and waiting for the mobile carriers and telecom companies to “build” the 5G network, but it has become abundantly clear they will be building their networks up to the outside skin of our buildings and no farther. “In-building wireless (IBW)” is the new frontier for wireless. It will provide coverage where the carriers will not. Most building owners are not aware of the overwhelming need or demand to maintain viability with the needs of their tenants. This request will manifest the strongest in the multifamily residential space.
Landlords to the rescue?
In the case of multifamily, whether it is a low-rise, midrise, high-rise, or garden construction, there is simply no way for a 5G signal to get through all the steel, concrete, and other building materials. Yet wireless customers still expect their phone to work – no matter where they are. Many experts in the multifamily technology space are thinking that at first, multifamily customers will blame the carrier. continued on p. 18
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