The commercial real estate sector is undergoing a transformation. The Internet of Things is expected to transform not only the way buildings function but also how the tenants within those buildings operate and communicate.

This sea change will require robust in-building infrastructure, both wireless and fiber, to support the millions of sensors and devices sending and receiving data every second of the day. The nation’s wireless carriers are addressing the need for in-building coverage and capacity primarily in large venues that service thousands of disparate users. But for the millions of commercial buildings where carriers are not deploying in-building infrastructure, building owners, enterprises and third-party providers are increasingly filling in the gaps.

Charlotte, North Carolina-based Airwavz Solutions is one such third-party provider that is focused on bringing in-building infrastructure that will capitalize on current and future wireless networks to buildings and businesses across the country. Airwavz owns and operates wireless infrastructure inside commercial buildings in dense metropolitan areas. The company’s solutions provide building tenants and guests with exceptional cellular service while also allowing wireless carriers to improve coverage and increase network capacity.

In June, Airwavz secured rights to lease Globalstar Inc.’s nationwide terrestrial Band 53, which received approval from the 3rd Generation Partnership Project last year, for in-building wireless services.  Pilots are expected to begin in the commercial real estate sector this year.

The company said while current network topologies—such as distributed antenna systems, distributed radio access networks, Wi-Fi and fiber-optic systems—address today’s in-building wireless needs, the expected explosion of IoT devices and the millions of connections needed for smart building applications will require new technologies to supplement today’s solutions.

“The potential to offer our commercial real estate clients robust wireless services, based on both licensed Band 53 and quasi-licensed Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) is driving us to innovate and break through current business models and technological barriers,” said Mark Horinko, president of Airwavz. “Until now, this option really did not exist.”