Because cellular phone service (including 5G) is inherently “mobile,” served from towers around town, it is often thought of as a service consumed while “on the go”.
However; most cellular communication occurs indoors. And because some indoor spaces lack quality cellular coverage and performance, it’s important that mobile operators invest in ensuring that their customers are well served while within building walls.
Fortunately, the technologies used by 5G networks are advancing to help operators improve indoor performance.
Governments around the world are recognising the importance of quality cellular performance indoors and are taking action to improve it. In 2024, Hong Kong’s Office of the Communications Authority (OFCA) launched a program to encourage mobile operators to improve indoor wireless experiences by issuing labels that operators and venue owners can post to the outside of buildings declaring that indoor 5G service has been registered with the OFCA.
In the United Arab Emirates, the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority tests of the quality of mobile service in 50 indoor locations and issues benchmark reports describing the results. Similar actions have occurred in other countries.
Cellular performance in large indoor venues
Historically, the cellular service needs inside large indoor venues have been met by distributed antenna systems (DAS), which allow multiple mobile operators to use equipment that is centralised within the venue and transmitted via antennas dispersed throughout it.
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By GlobalDataHowever, these DAS systems are not ideal for every venue. Some venues are not large enough to justify the considerable expense of deploying a DAS inside. In addition, DAS is not as well-suited to deliver the full capabilities of 5G as it was delivering earlier generations of mobile technology.
Where DAS is not the best option, operators and venues often install “small cells” — indoor versions of the base stations that deliver mobile service at cell towers.
Small cells are evolving
Mobile operators have been using small cells to extend their 4G and 5G networks into indoor places for years. The technologies in these indoor small-cell networks are also evolving to give consumers a better experience.
Small-cell networks are increasingly given support for more bandwidth and multiple frequency bands, which translates to faster service. They have the ability to be shared by multiple operators. They feature integrated designs that make them more cost-effective, efficient, easy to deploy and unobtrusive, requiring fewer network nodes to be deployed per building.
Small cells are also increasing in diversity, with different versions tailored for specific scenarios, such as campuses, airports, stadiums and even places where investment in cellular service typically have less value, such as elevator shafts and parking garages.
With multiple advancements, the superiority of small cells over DAS in many areas is only growing. For example, to serve a particular 12-floor hospital building, one operator in Hong Kong recently calculated a DAS network would require 672 network nodes but a small-cell network (specifically one supplied by equipment maker Huawei Technologies) would only require 201 pieces. Such efficiency can give mobile operators a better return on their indoor investments.
5G is evolving into an inside job
5G technology itself is also evolving to improve the indoor cellular experience. In 2024 the mobile industry finalised standards specifying the next generation of 5G network technologies, known as 5G-Advanced.
Those technologies are now making their way into mobile networks, improving coverage and signal-to-noise ratios. They are also increasing download speeds in indoor spaces – in some cases to more than 4 gigabits per second. But importantly they are also increasing uplink speeds – in some cases, more than 460 megabits per second. Although download speeds have historically been more important to consumers, the increasing trends of live-streaming, video broadcasting and social media have made faster uplink more important.
5G-Advanced also helps operators offer differentiated services beyond simple mobile connectivity – both indoor and outdoor. This allows operators to tailor premium offerings such as those for live streamers, gamers (who need low-latency connections), travelers and many more. Such premium services help operators’ profit, which in turn encourages further investment in improving service.
Indoor service is also important in supporting a growing array of mobile offerings for businesses that require connecting sensors for a variety of use cases – asset tracking, automatic vehicles, robotics, video surveillance and many more. As 5G network operators continue striving to transform the world, they will increasingly find that it is an inside job.
