The Invisible Infrastructure Gap

By Iain Gillott, Vice President, Innovation and Technology, WIA

The wireless that tenants, guests, and shoppers expect is evolving faster than what many buildings currently deliver. That expectation is not theoretical. WIA’s 2026 survey data helps quantify that shift — and highlights a growing opportunity to close the gap. With the FIFA World Cup kicking off today in the United States, millions of fans are converging on stadiums, hotels, and transit hubs—bringing an immediate, real-world stress test for in-building wireless performance across the country.

At Connect (X) 2026 last month in Fort Lauderdale, Tracy Ford, Vice President of Member Services for WIA, and I presented findings from WIA’s consumer and enterprise in-building research.  The session was interactive, with lots of audience questions and discussion – we had fun!

We presented data that shows that modern buildings are not just real estate — they are digital infrastructure. Consumers walk in expecting seamless streaming, real-time social sharing, and frictionless AI interaction. Enterprise tenants expect mobile-first operations, zero downtime, and networks that perform under load. Tolerance for digital friction is essentially zero. That is what the market demands.

Which makes it worth examining why 34% of IT managers are still reporting critical coverage gaps in their own facilities.

The Shopper Who Walked Out

Retail feels the impact most directly. WIA’s survey data on shopper behavior is a useful reality check for property managers. When shoppers hit a dead zone — that moment their signal drops mid-checkout, mid-comparison, mid-browse — 7% leave. Not wait. Not find a workaround. Leave.

The fallback behavior compounds the problem. Thirty three percent actively hunt for a Wi-Fi network, pulling them off the path to purchase entirely. The loyalty data is equally sobering: shoppers are 23% less likely to return to a store with poor coverage. Seven percent save their cart and walk. Poor connectivity is not just a frustration — it is a measurable drag on revenue.

Hotels, Stadiums, Schools, Airports: The Pattern Holds

The research spans the full venue spectrum, and the findings are remarkably consistent across building types.

Hotel guests have gone fully hybrid. Seventy two percent use cellular for communication and social networking; 76% rely on combined Wi-Fi and mobile data for bandwidth-intensive tasks — streaming, business applications, data transfer. Guest expectations have moved beyond “decent Wi-Fi in the lobby.” Seamless handoff between robust in-building cellular and property Wi-Fi, across the entire property, is now the baseline.

That demand is about to scale dramatically. As World Cup matches begin across U.S. venues, these behaviors—real-time sharing, streaming, and always-on connectivity—will intensify, putting even greater pressure on stadium networks to deliver seamless performance at peak density.

At stadiums, 75% of fans want real-time communications during events. Sixty six percent are actively updating social networks from their seats. Thirty five percent are in video chats — a number that surges to 43% among the 18–34 demographic. And 68% rely on mobile data, cellular or hybrid, to power these experiences. The in-venue digital experience has become inseparable from the physical one.

The friction dashboard across venue types is striking in its uniformity. Schools: 63% of users actively disconnect from Wi-Fi to in-building cellular networks. Airports: 66%. Hotels: 62%. Different buildings, same structural problem. The root causes are consistent too — slow Wi-Fi speeds, network congestion, captive Wi-Fi portal friction, and public Wi-Fi security limitations that push users back onto cellular.

Events like the World Cup extend this strain beyond the stadium. Airports, hotels, and surrounding retail environments become part of the fan experience—each one expected to deliver the same seamless connectivity, despite surging and highly concentrated demand.

IT Sees the Gap. The Constraints Are Real.

On the enterprise side, IT managers are well aware of the problem. The issue is not awareness — it is resources and planning cycles. Fifty two percent cite best fit for the environment as their primary motivation for in-building cellular decisions. Fifty percent prioritize enterprise-grade security and 43% need ease of deployment.

Nearly half (46%) of IT managers are concerned about technology obsolescence. That is a significant share of an industry worried about locking into infrastructure that may not handle the next wave of demand. The wish list for what IT managers want to add reinforces the picture:

• 41% want better DAS and small cell coverage for cellular;
• 39% want the ability to integrate environmental sensors and energy management systems; and
• 38% want centralized management tools for distributed workforces.

The gap between the building they have and the building they need is well understood. The path to closing it is where the work lies.

AI Moves the Goalposts

The connectivity gap was already worth addressing. AI has increased the urgency considerably.

Seventy four percent of consumers are actively using AI applications. Those services run continuously — on the go, in the venue, throughout the building visit. AI does not just consume data at a desk; it redistributes data demand across the physical environment. Hotel venues are already seeing 45% of guests using AI apps on property and 34% of event attendees are running AI services.

The implication is straightforward: connectivity infrastructure that was adequate for pre-AI usage patterns may not be adequate now. The data demands are different, and they are distributed across the building in ways that fixed, desk-centric assumptions do not account for.

Deployments Are Getting Smaller — and More Distributed

One data point that reshapes the deployment conversation: in-building network footprints are shrinking. The average planned deployment is 6.5% smaller than existing infrastructure. Survey data shows that the growth is concentrated in facilities between 5,000 and 25,000 square feet — a significant surge in activity for that range. Buildings over 100,000 square feet are seeing a decline in planned deployments as the largest venues have already been built out.

The drivers are distributed operations, self-funded enterprise requirements, and the increasing availability of affordable Multi-Operator Core Networks (MOCNs). The trend is toward smaller footprints, higher density, and more distributed in-building network architecture. The economics of in-building wireless are shifting in real time.

The Case for a Unified Approach

WIA’s research points to a conclusion the industry has been circling for some time: Wi-Fi alone is not a complete strategy.

Across retail, stadiums, and hotels, users are operating on a seamless cellular and Wi-Fi hybrid model — whether or not the building is designed to support it. Consumer-side demand flows through brand loyalty and repeat visits, which requires zero-friction, on-the-go handoffs. Enterprise demand flows through revenue protection and operational efficiency, which requires security, flexibility, and digital infrastructure built to last.

The answer that satisfies both is high-capacity, secure in-building cellular and private networks operating together. The two streams share a common foundation, and addressing them in isolation leaves value on the table — for operators, tenants, and the people moving through these buildings every day.

Takeaways

With global events like the FIFA World Cup now underway on U.S. soil, the performance of in-building wireless is no longer a background issue—it is a visible, high-stakes component of the customer and fan experience.

The infrastructure that powers modern buildings has become as essential as the physical structure itself. The 2026 WIA data gives the industry a clear-eyed view of where the gaps are and what closing them is worth. The opportunity is significant for the operators willing to move on it.