Freshwave says economic growth is at risk due to shoddy indoor connectivityFreshwave says economic growth is at risk due to shoddy indoor connectivity

The firm surveyed 900 C-suite executives and IT decision-makers, and warned that “UK economic growth is at risk due to current indoor connectivity limitations.”

Organisations of 100+ employees collectively lose £100 billion annually, or an average of £4.6m each, we’re told “by failing to fully take advantage of the available connectivity services” – the type of services being offered by Freshwave, of course.

The report says better indoor mobile connectivity could reduce that impact by as much as 70%, equating to added value of £70 billion per year across the UK economy.

87% of the participating organisations said that poor current indoor connectivity causes daily disruptions. Building layouts and construction materials, such as energy efficient glass, often block outdoor mobile signal from penetrating buildings, explains the release.

The public sector is the most affected by indoor connectivity dead zones, losing £46 billion annually, with potential gains of £33 billion “not being realised,” reckons the release.

“The UK economy simply cannot afford to lose £100bn every year,” said Simon Frumkin, CEO of Freshwave. “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 £70bn 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.”

Of course just like when security firms point to the problem of rising rates of malware with one hand and with the other point to their sales reps, there is vested interested in bringing this stuff up – but still cybercrime is an actual problem that needs a solution, and it’s also true that it’s annoying not being able to get a mobile signal in skyscrapers.