Over the past 20 years, the cellular phone has evolved from something we used to “pretend we were in the office” on a Friday afternoon to becoming likely the most essential piece of equipment in our lives.  While it has changed our personal lives, it has had an equally significant impact on the business world.

This means that for your business to function normally, a strong cellular signal is no longer a luxury in your location.  Here are five ways that a stronger mobile signal will change your business for the better:


Your customers expect it

Sure, you may offer free Wi-Fi to your customers, and this helps to attract customers.  However, not everyone feels comfortable giving away personal information to obtain Wi-Fi, while others are nervous about using unknown Wi-Fi networks.  As well, while Instagram may rule the world, people still rely on voice calls or texts during times of emergency.  Don’t be surprised to hear that many people will avoid your location if you have terrible cellular coverage, especially if they may spend a lot of time there (such as at a restaurant).

Your employees will be more productive

Ok, maybe the first point does not apply, as customers do not visit your location.  As well, you may have a strict “no social media” rule at your office.  However, this thinking may be short-sighted.  Much of today’s business happens while people are away from their desk, even while in the office.  As well, many offices are thinking about moving towards 5G for all of their communications, making reliable cell coverage a must.

 In some offices, there may be a restriction towards using Wi-Fi in particular areas, such as in a laboratory.  If your team does rely on cellular data, a stronger signal will ensure faster speeds for them to do their job.


It improves the safety of your location, especially remote sites and mobile

Depending on where you live, your jurisdiction may have a “work alone” policy.  The basic idea is that if you do your job either always or mostly alone, you need to have a non-verbal way of communicating that something is wrong.  Most organizations opt for push-button pendants, often using a smartphone to send the alert.

This means that a reliable and strong cellular signal in all areas of your facility is no longer an option.  This is especially true for a remote, temporary or mobile location, as you will not always know in advance how strong the cellular signal in the area may be.


Your devices will last longer

I remember when I was about 6, I could not figure out why gas mileage was better for cars when they were driving on a highway when compared to driving in the city.  I mean, how can it be more efficient to drive 2x as fast?  The answer, as I was told, was that the starting and stopping created more work for your car, despite the speed differences.  The same holds for your phone; it is much better for your battery life (and the phone in general) to browse quickly while in reliable coverage than to send data slower while in lousy coverage.

While this extra strain affects all aspects of your devices, it is especially true for your battery.  A better cellular signal will allow your devices to last much longer.

Less dropped calls / missed messages

Quick … how many times in the past year have you had voicemail messages show up, and your phone did not ring?  I need to use all of my fingers and toes on this one.  Missed calls are somewhat inevitable when we chose to cut the wire, but the frequency of them does get worse as coverage declines.

Text messages are a bit better, as they don’t need as strong of coverage, but any missed messages hurt your team’s productivity and customer service levels.

To wrap this up, how do you improve your coverage?

I didn’t want to make this into too much of a sales pitch, but the team at Novotech can help you with any low coverage situation.

The first way is to look at cellular enhancement solutions. There are ones that specialize in all sorts of environments, small/medium and large offices, mobile deployments, rugged deployments, outdoor deployments and more.

If your communication is based on a gateway, such as in the case of many IoT solutions, using a more powerful antenna can often help.

Finally, remember what kills cellular signal- metal, concrete, and other materials prevent the signal from getting where it needs to go. In some cases, running a cable to an external antenna can make a ton of difference