U.S. Mobile Bandwidth by Floor in Commercial Buildings Forecast, 2019-2024

Mobile LTE networks do not generally cover the higher floors of tall buildings very well. Not only do the walls block LTE signals but the networks are generally designed to provide coverage and capacity at ground level. The amount of mobile data used inside commercial buildings has implications for in-building wireless (IBW) and especially for providers who are looking to build systems and then sell that capacity to mobile operators.

In this report, iGR presents a forecast for the amount of mobile data used in U.S. commercial buildings by floor. The forecast estimates the total amount of mobile data used in commercial buildings, the usage per floor and the usage per vertical industry.

The worker estimate is based on CBECS and iGR estimates for the number of U.S. commercial buildings and the number of workers employed in those buildings. iGR also uses its own mobile data usage, connections and “time of day” usage forecasts. iGR’s model for worker usage assumes that U.S. workers are more likely to spend certain periods of their work day within buildings. More detailed assumptions underlying iGR’s worker mobile data usage are explained in this report.

Note that this forecast does not include any estimates for Wi-Fi usage or residential mobile data use.

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Key Questions Answered

• How many people work in commercial buildings in the U.S.?
• How many people work on each floor of commercial buildings in the U.S.?
• How does this data split by vertical industry?
• How much mobile data do U.S. workers across all commercial building categories use?
• How much mobile LTE data do these employees use per floor and per vertical industry?
• How does this mobile LTE data usage change over the forecast period?

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Who Should Read

• Mobile operators, particularly those servicing the U.S. market
• Mobile backhaul providers, including telcos and cable MSOs
• Wired and wireless backhaul vendors and solution providers
• Mobile OEMs, particularly those servicing the U.S. market
• Wired and wireless infrastructure vendors, particularly those servicing the U.S. market
• Financial and investment analysts.

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Table of Contents

• Abstract
• Executive Summary
• What This Means
• Methodology
• In-building Signal Penetration
• Building LTE signal penetration
• Antenna tilt angle
• The solution to poor in-building coverage and capacity
• U.S. Commercial Building Bandwidth by Floor Forecast
• Overall methodology
• Building-specific assumptions
• U.S. Workers in Commercial Buildings
• U.S. Mobile Data Usage by Workers in Commercial Buildings
• U.S. Mobile Data Usage by Workers in Commercial Buildings per Floor
• Definitions
• About iGR
• Disclaimer

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List of Tables

• Table A: Total monthly bandwidth per floor 2019 - 2024 (GBs)
• Table 1: Different Types of Small Cells, Licensed and Unlicensed Spectrum
• Table 2: Commercial Buildings in the U.S.
• Table 3: 2019 employment per floor (000s)
• Table 4: Mobile Bandwidth per employee in commercial buildings (MB/Month)
• Table 5: 2019 monthly bandwidth per floor (GBs)
• Table 6: 2020 monthly bandwidth per floor (GBs)
• Table 7: 2021 monthly bandwidth per floor (GBs)
• Table 8: 2022 monthly bandwidth per floor (GBs)
• Table 9: 2023 monthly bandwidth per floor (GBs)
• Table 10: 2024 monthly bandwidth per floor (GBs)
• Table 11: Total monthly bandwidth per floor 2019 - 2024 (GBs)
• Definitions Table

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List of Charts and Figures

• Figure A: Total monthly bandwidth per floor 2019 - 2024 (GBs)
• Figure 1: In-building Penetration at Different Frequencies
• Figure 2: Cellular signal power levels with antenna tilt
• Figure 3: Example macrocell and small cell coverage of commercial buildings
• Figure 4: Mobile Bandwidth per employee in commercial buildings (MB/Month)
• Figure 5: Total monthly bandwidth per floor 2019 - 2024 (GBs)

For additional information on the U.S. Mobile Bandwidth by Floor in Commercial Buildings Forecast, 2019 - 2024 market study, please contact Iain Gillott, at (512) 263-5682 or by email.