06 May 2025

Neutral host networks are emerging as a seriously compelling solution, taking the mess out of mobile infrastructure by offering operator-agnostic platforms.

Neutral host networks offer a stark contrast to the traditional siloed approach of individual operator deployments. Instead of duplicating efforts and hardware, a neutral host acts as the backbone everyone can share.

“Neutral host networks are the Switzerland of connectivity — neutral, inclusive, and ensuring that everyone gets along. Instead of each mobile network operator (MNO) building their own infrastructure (which is expensive, inefficient, and often impractical indoors), a neutral host provides a single high-performance platform that all operators can share,” asserts Mikael Lundman, CEO of Proptivity. “For enterprises and the public sector, this means better indoor coverage, lower costs, reduced clutter, and fewer headaches. Compared to traditional models, neutral hosts are faster to deploy, easier to manage, and significantly more cost-effective.”

Simon Fletcher, CEO of Real Wireless, elaborates on the financial model: “neutral host networks can be financed by mobile operators or by independent companies – called neutral hosts (NHs). In some markets the MNOs no longer have the willingness to pay for infrastructure, thus NH players may step in to finance the build and have a revenue model that can extract OPEX from MNO fees whose service is carried over the networks, or building owners can be part of the initial financing or support OPEX. The role of the NH is to find the business model that works for the place that the network is installed.”

Cracking indoor connectivity

Mikael Lundman, CEO, Proptivity

If there’s one arena where neutral hosts shine brightest, it’s in tackling the headache of indoor signal quality — particularly in Britain’s character-filled, connectivity-challenged buildings.

“The UK has no shortage of beautiful architecture — often featuring thick walls, steel structures, and reflective glass. All great for design, but terrible for mobile signals. Neutral host solutions tackle these head-on by deploying robust, high-performance indoor networks. These provide strong, consistent coverage for everyone — tenants, visitors, and guests. And because the infrastructure is operator-neutral, it’s inherently more resilient. If one operator experiences an issue, users still have access through others,” shares Lundman.

Fletcher points out that the technology stack matters: “increasingly we see interest in neutral hosts providing additional connectivity, perhaps through private networks running over DAS and other infra. The in-building installation naturally reduces the propagation loss through the building walls and should give better in-building coverage and capacity. Some relay and repeater product options are available, but these are going out of favour.”

Barriers and balance sheets

For neutral hosts to scale, both commercial alignment and technical integration need to evolve.

And according to our Fletcher, this is where the real grind begins: “judging when an operator may like to have coverage, but the MNO business decides the ROI on CAPEX is not there. So, the NH has a fine balancing act. However, they have various network product options available to them to get the right cost/performance mix. Awareness of the commercial options, not just for the MNOs, but to the wider enterprise and building market will be helpful in increasing adoption.”

“On the commercial side, alignment between landlords, mobile operators, and NHs is key. Everyone needs to see the value — and agree on how to split the bill. Ultimately though, it’s the tenants who need to experience the value of great indoor connectivity and, directly or indirectly, cover the cost,” adds Lundman. “On the technical side, integrating multiple operator systems can be complex, especially as we move toward modern, active indoor systems — which, let’s be honest, is clearly the future. This is exactly where a capable NH earns its keep — taking on that complexity and managing it on behalf of the property owners, so they don’t have to become telecom engineers overnight.”

Moreover, as private 5G networks inch toward the mainstream, NHs could offer a dual role — supporting both public and private networks on the same infrastructure.

“Modern active indoor systems are built to handle both public operator services and private 5G networks — on the same infrastructure. A good NH should tailor the setup to match the needs of the property owner, and in some cases, that means supporting both public and private 5G services simultaneously,” says Lundman. “Private 5G is used for secure, mission-critical operations, while public 5G provides seamless connectivity for employees, partners, and visitors. It’s not either/or — it’s both, running smoothly side by side.”

Fletcher sees a variety of options being explored: “the easiest option is enterprise network solutions from an MNO that will also deal with the in-building network. However, then you are locked into an MNO. Not all private solutions will default to 5G, still LTE/4G is an option. In some markets like the UK there is dedicated spectrum (n77) for private which can be helpful.”

Regulatory momentum

The UK may not always be first to the party when it comes to tech infrastructure, but it’s earning kudos for taking a smart, collaborative approach to neutral hosts.

Lundman notes that the UK is actually something of a shining star when it comes to enabling neutral host models. The development of the JOTS standard — and now the JOTS NHIB (Neutral Host In-Building) framework — shows what’s possible when market stakeholders collaborate.

“What’s particularly impressive is that it was the UK mobile operators themselves who took the initiative to drive these standards forward. That’s not just commendable — it’s smart,” claims Lundman.

Fletcher points to a balance still being struck: “The NH players would like more freedom to use n77 for public mobile operator MOCN deployment. Ofcom permits neutral hosts to use n77 spectrum (3.8–4.2GHz) for broadcasting public mobile operator network IDs under specific licensing, coordination and technical conditions. They are looking to balance innovation and incumbent protections, going in the right direction gradually, the technical conditions are limiting opportunity at the moment.”

The neutral pivot

Simon Fletcher, Real Wireless

Looking ahead, neutral hosts won’t just supplement operator networks — they’ll become the default.

“Some markets (Saudi Arabia for example) regulate tower and neutral host approaches to encourage infra sharing. The creation of the JOTS specification which helps with standardising of the approaches and reduces the time to install and certify a network to carry the MNO network signals,” says Fletcher.

“Indoor connectivity is the next major frontier. Traditional mobile operators won’t be able to rely on their existing outdoor-focused business models — building and owning dedicated infrastructure — to deliver the seamless indoor coverage that’s increasingly expected. Instead, the responsibility will shift toward property owners, who will need to ensure reliable connectivity for their tenants, much like they do with utilities today,” adds Lundman. “But most property owners don’t have in-house telecom teams ready to take this on. That’s where neutral hosts come in. As trusted third-party providers, we’ll play a central role in bridging the gap — offering future-proof, operator-agnostic indoor connectivity as a service.”

If connectivity is the foundation of digital infrastructure, then neutral hosts may well become its most elegant architecture. With collaborative frameworks like JOTS, new use cases emerging, and real momentum building, the UK seems poised to lead on neutral hosting: not by going it alone, but by sharing the load.