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Why Digital Connectivity is now the Key Priority for Regional Success

Following UKREiiF 2026, Ontix reflects on why indoor and outdoor mobile performance is becoming critical to property value, regional growth and connected place strategies.

Digital connectivity is now part of how property, places and communities perform

Outside of the main UK urban centres, the conversation has moved beyond whether people can get a mobile signal. Stakeholders are now considering how buildings, venues, campuses, public spaces and destinations can properly support the people, businesses and services that depend on them.

It influences:

01.
Occupier experience, workplace performance and day-to-day operations
02.
Access to services, payments and digital experiences for communities and visitors
03.
Business trading, communication and resilience
04.
Safety, mobility and community use across public spaces
05.
Seasonal demand management in tourism destinations
06.
Long-term property value and future relevance

This was a key theme at UKREiiF 2026, particularly during the Planning for the On-site Digital Connectivity breakfast session, hosted by Ambition North Wales at the All Wales Cymru Pavilion and sponsored by Ontix. Chris Newall, CEO at Ontix, joined the panel to discuss the importance of planning for indoor and outdoor digital connectivity, the challenges affecting deployment, and the opportunity to create more effective public-private models for regional connectivity.

For regions seeking economic growth, property stakeholders and the wider built environment, the message was clear: better digital connectivity will not happen by assumption. It needs strategy, coordination, investment and practical delivery models that can move from discussion to deployment. 

At a Glance

The UKREiiF discussion reinforced a clear message for the built environment: digital connectivity is now part of how places perform. From property value and occupier experience to regional growth and public-private delivery models, the priority is no longer simply recognising the need for connectivity, but understanding how to plan, coordinate and deploy it effectively.

Ontix helps stakeholders move from early-stage connectivity ambition to informed decision-making and practical deployment, supporting the transition from strategy through to delivery.

Digital connectivity is now a built environment priority, influencing property value, regional growth, occupier experience and connected place strategies.
Coverage is not the same as capacity; real-world performance depends on how people use connectivity in buildings, venues, public spaces and destinations.
Indoor connectivity needs to be considered earlier, particularly as modern building materials can reduce mobile signal penetration.
Mobile network operators play a pivotal role, but public and private sector collaboration is needed to make deployment more viable in complex or underserved environments.

Connectivity is now essential to economic growth

Reliable indoor and outdoor mobile connectivity is non-negotiable for regional growth.

It plays a critical role in attracting investment, supporting businesses, strengthening tourism, serving communities and building long-term resilience.

Through its work across North Wales, Ambition North Wales provided a clear and timely example of a wider UK challenge: how regional growth bodies, local authorities and public-private partnerships can make reliable connectivity more achievable in places where deployment is more complex.

Rural geography, dispersed communities, seasonal visitor peaks and areas of lower commercial return can create environments where demand is high, infrastructure is harder to deploy, and the investment case requires a more collaborative approach. At the same time, the way people interact with connected environments has changed. Remote and hybrid working, mobile-first services, digital payments and real-time communication have increased demand in places where infrastructure was not originally designed to support today’s expectations.

The opportunity is to respond with greater coordination: understanding where connectivity is underperforming, aligning public and private sector priorities, and creating delivery models that support stronger digital infrastructure where it is needed most.

Coverage is not the same as capacity

One of the most important themes from the discussion was the difference between network coverage and real-world performance.

A place may in theory benefit from mobile coverage, but that does not mean the network has the capacity, resilience or indoor reach to support how people actually use it. This matters in busy places, visitor destinations, transport environments, venues, commercial buildings and seasonal tourism locations, where demand can rise quickly, and user expectations are immediate.

People do not judge connectivity by whether a coverage map suggests a signal is available. They judge it by whether they can connect, make a payment, access a service, work effectively or use digital tools when needed.

For place leaders and property stakeholders, this is a practical and commercial challenge. Poor connectivity can undermine the performance of otherwise high-quality spaces. It can affect occupier satisfaction, customer experience, operational efficiency and commercial attractiveness. The panel also recognised the pivotal role mobile network operators play in delivering national connectivity, but they cannot be realistically expected to address every built-environment and regional connectivity challenge in isolation.

High macro network infrastructure costs, complex technology upgrades, commercial viability in lower-density areas and coverage-focused regulations all influence where and how investment can be made. This is why collaboration matters. By bringing together public and private sector partners across the connectivity ecosystem, there is an opportunity to create delivery models that support stronger performance, reduce duplication and make deployment more viable across different environments.

That does not mean the challenge is unsolvable. It means the model needs to evolve.

The opportunity is to respond with greater coordination: understanding where connectivity is underperforming, aligning public and private sector priorities, and creating delivery models that support stronger digital infrastructure where it is needed most.

Indoor connectivity now needs intentional planning

Modern buildings are increasingly designed to be safer, more energy-efficient, and more technically advanced. However, materials such as reflective glass, specialist coatings, insulation and modern construction systems can reduce mobile signal penetration.

The result is simple: a strong outdoor signal does not guarantee strong indoor connectivity.

Ideally, digital connectivity requirements should be assessed at the feasibility and design stage, when key decisions about infrastructure, access and building layout are made. If connectivity is not considered at the right stage, it can become more expensive, more disruptive and more complex to solve later.

However, existing properties and places do not have to accept poor connectivity as a fixed constraint. While distributed antenna systems have an important role in large, high-capacity environments, many smaller businesses, properties and venues need a more targeted and commercially accessible route to improved mobile performance. This is where small cell, femto cell and neutral host models can provide practical options for both existing and future built environments.

A new model for regional connectivity

Throughout our conversations at UKREiiF, it was clear there is a significant opportunity to develop more collaborative public-private models for digital connectivity, bringing together public funding, private investment, shared infrastructure and specialist deployment expertise to create a more viable route to improved connectivity across rural, urban and underserved environments.

This is where Ontix’s neutral host model is highly relevant. By enabling shared infrastructure that can support multiple mobile networks, it helps reduce duplication, improve deployment efficiency and make connectivity more viable in complex environments.

For regional economies, this matters because better connectivity can support much more than a stronger signal. It can help retain innovation locally, support SMEs and micro businesses, strengthen tourism, enable more efficient supply chains and support modern digital tools in sectors such as agriculture, public services and local industry. In the built environment, it can improve how offices, campuses, venues, retail destinations, residential environments and public spaces perform — and how people experience them.

For Ontix, this means helping stakeholders ask the right questions before decisions are made. What level of performance is needed? Where are users experiencing gaps? What constraints exist across the site, building or public realm? Which partners need to be involved? And what delivery model will make connectivity achievable, commercially viable and ready for real-world use?

Answering these questions early helps turn digital connectivity from a general ambition into a structured, deliverable infrastructure plan.

If you are considering how digital connectivity could support your development, estate, venue, public space or regional growth strategy, Ontix can help you move from early-stage thinking to informed decision-making and real-world deployment.