With the availability of strong, consistent cellular connections more important than ever to today’s business environment, commercial real estate services firm CBRE is responding to the need for deeper in-building wireless analysis to provide richer insights into its clients’ commercial cellular and Wi-Fi coverage. With the launch of its new Benchmark In-building Cellular Signal Mapping services, CBRE Telecom Advisory Services can now test and quantify the indoor network quality of entire properties or an individual unit.
In-building coverage has become a necessity for many commercial real estate leasing customers, with more than 80 percent of data usage now occurring inside buildings. The ability for CBRE Telecom Advisory Services to provide detailed reports and high-level snapshots identifying a property’s current cellular and Wi-Fi coverage and performance is invaluable to owners and lessees. With this insight, CBRE is better able to identify problem areas before customers ever enter a building, define where distributed antenna systems (DAS) or other small cell installations may be needed, and move forward with value-added property marketing strategies.
“We cannot emphasize enough the importance of in-building coverage. When individuals have poor in-building network experiences, it impacts their overall view of a property,” said Cris Kimbrough, Managing Director of Telecom Advisory Services for CBRE. “We want to raise awareness with our partners and customers that potential buyers and lessees require reliable mobile networks when considering commercial real estate properties, and we feel confident that this new service will give them the information they need to be successful.”
A key element of the new service is CBRE’s employment of Mosaik’s Signal Insights application for measuring and evaluating a customer’s cellular and Wi-Fi network experience. Designed to help businesses gain valuable insight into the overall network experience, Signal Insights measures and analyzes cellular or Wi-Fi networks from a customer or user perspective.
The application provides CBRE with the ability to visualize the customers’ network experiences via an interactive map, a floor plan, or a photo taken from a mobile device. Not only can building owners better set their leasing partners’ expectations, but they can improve retention by improving the customer experience. CBRE can now measure indoor and outdoor signal, throughput quality, as well as analyze key performance indicators (KPIs), including signal strength, downlink speed, latency and more.
The new CBRE Benchmark In-building Cellular Signal Mapping services include:
- Testing and reporting: Signal Insights will be used to test in-building network coverage for CBRE properties, providing property owners and lessees with a coverage snapshot of network problem areas to take the necessary actions to correct issues for tenants
- Greater intelligence for Wi-Fi and cellular coverage: Signal Insights will provide CBRE with the ability to test both Wi-Fi and cellular service, which can then help to determine the need for small cell or distributed antenna system (DAS) deployment
“Signal Insights is crucial to helping property owners better understand their customers’ real-world wireless network experiences, and we’re excited to work with CBRE in offering this service,” said Chip Strange, vice president of products and technology at Mosaik. “After all, high quality wireless services are no longer just an amenity, rather a vital service that helps increase productivity for most businesses.”
CBRE is expected to start offering Benchmark In-Building Cellular Signal Mapping to its customers beginning in October 2016.