If you’ve ever wondered why your phone works perfectly outside a building but struggles the moment you step indoors, you’re not alone.
Today, 80–90% of cellular calls originate indoors, and 80% of emergency calls come from mobile devices, yet indoor cellular coverage remains one of the most common—and misunderstood—connectivity challenges. As buildings become more energy-efficient and networks evolve toward faster 5G technologies, indoor coverage issues are becoming more frequent, not less.
The good news? If there’s usable cellular signal outside your building, it can be brought inside and amplified. Understanding why indoor coverage fails is the first step toward fixing it.
Cellular signals start strong at the tower, but by the time they reach your building, they’ve already been weakened by distance and obstacles. Once inside, several factors can further degrade performance:
Faster 5G signals compound the issue. While they deliver higher speeds and lower latency, their shorter wavelengths make them even less capable of penetrating buildings—an issue that will only increase as networks continue to evolve
Indoor cellular problems don’t resolve themselves, and waiting can have real consequences:
Here are the steps for delivering strong cellular coverage inside your building(s). This process is managed by your system integrator or installer, working with the IT team and/or facility manager. For very large sites or new construction, the site engineer or architect will also be involved.
Create a rough estimate for budgetary / planning purposes. This can easily be done remotely using files of your floor plan(s) and an understanding of the goals of the project. The estimate will be prepared by a Nextivity expert using our proprietary Bill of Material estimation tool, for quick and accurate results. This puts everyone on the same page regarding the scope of the effort and expected timelines.
Conduct a site survey by walking the space while measuring existing signal levels using special equipment. A Nextivity expert will walk the space using our propietary COMPASS XR grid tester to produce a signal report for your review. This includes going on the roof or other outside areas where the antennas that pull the signal into the building will be located.
Using the information from the site survey, a final design and detailed quote is prepared and approved. This provides a blueprint for the installers so they know where to put the antennas inside and outside to achieve the required coverage. Designs also include all the cables and cable routes needed throughout the building.
In a relatively compact space with good accessibility, like a car dealership or bank branch, installation can be as fast as overnight. For campus projects and large sites, installation may take up to several weeks or be done in phases. Care is always taken not to disrupt normal building usage. Once the physical components are in place, the system is brought online through remote access, again minimizing disruption to the site.
A post-installation site survey will provide data showing signal levels throughout the building, ensuring project goals have been met. From this point forward, the system(s) will be monitored and managed remotely by the System Integrator using our award-winning WAVE Portal, keeping it performing at optimal levels. It is unlikely that additional site visits will be required unless the building changes or damage has occurred.
