The Small Cell Forum (SCF) has launched an Enterprise Advisory Council (EAC) to strengthen collaboration with businesses and institutions and address the persistent problem of poor cellular coverage in commercial and public spaces.
Founding EAC members include commercial real-estate advisors Camden Living and CBRE, automaker General Motors, Grange Hotels, healthcare provider Kaiser Permanente, Marriott International, Texas A&M University and shared-office operator WeWork.
The SCF has already begun targeted outreach to the hospitality sector as the first of several vertical-specific engagement programs. This initiative aims to raise awareness about small cell solutions and promote practical deployment strategies tailored to each industry.
Research indicates that as many as two-thirds of business travelers will avoid returning to a hotel or venue that offers unreliable or inadequate wireless access. The public increasingly expects uninterrupted cellular service and becomes frustrated when coverage is poor. Small cells provide a secure, cost-effective way to deliver consistent high-speed indoor voice and data coverage. They are designed to be straightforward for venues to install and manage, similar to Wi‑Fi systems, while delivering the performance and reliability of cellular networks.
David Orloff, chair of the Small Cell Forum, commented: “Whether it’s dead zones frustrating guests on upper hotel floors or inadequate connectivity on factory floors, poor or patchy cellular coverage is a significant problem across enterprises. As reliance on mobile communications grows, unreliable access can directly affect an organization’s operations and financial performance.”
Industry observers have noted the scale and cost of widespread small cell deployment. For example, analysts at research firm MoffettNathanson have expressed skepticism about a single operator’s ability to build out small cells nationwide without substantial investment, emphasizing that building wired backhaul networks can be expensive and resource intensive.
By forming the EAC, the Small Cell Forum aims to foster closer industry partnerships, share best practices, and develop scalable approaches to bring dependable indoor cellular coverage to hotels, healthcare facilities, campuses, offices and other enterprise environments. The council will work to align operator, vendor and enterprise perspectives so that small cell deployments meet business needs, regulatory requirements and budget constraints while improving user experience.
Enterprises considering small cell solutions can expect the EAC to provide guidance on planning, integration with existing Wi‑Fi and IT infrastructures, security considerations, ongoing management and potential cost models. The goal is to make indoor cellular enhancement a feasible, high-impact option for organizations that depend on consistent mobile connectivity for customers, staff and critical operations.
The SCF’s EAC marks a collaborative step toward resolving indoor coverage challenges by bringing together stakeholders from real estate, hospitality, healthcare, education, automotive and workspace sectors to promote practical, scalable small cell adoption.