Five connectivity trends shaping commercial property in 2026

Businesses now expect to be online from the day they move in. Waiting weeks for a line to be installed is no longer something a tenant will put up with, and for landlords and agents that makes connectivity one of the deciding factors in how quickly a space lets.

"Connectivity used to be a tenant's problem to sort out after they signed," says founder and director Jamie Mableson. "Now it's one of the first questions they ask. The buildings that have a good answer are the ones that let."

Here are five trends shaping commercial property this year.

1. The analogue switch-off is almost here

Traditional analogue phone lines are being switched off across the UK, with the transition due to complete by 31 January 2027.

The risk isn't only phones. Many buildings still have lift lines, fire and intruder alarms, door entry and other critical systems running over analogue lines, often without anyone knowing exactly which ones. When those lines go, those systems can stop working.

For landlords and asset managers, the time to act is before the deadline, not after. Fuse's Switch-Off Audit finds the analogue lines in a building and what depends on them, so the move to digital can be planned without disruption to tenants.

2. Fibre is now the baseline

Cloud platforms, video calls, card payments and remote working all depend on a fast, stable connection, and full fibre is increasingly what tenants expect as standard.

The real advantage goes to buildings that have it in place before a tenant arrives. A Fuse Pre-Connected Property has a shared fibre backbone built in and partitioned per tenant, so any new occupier can be live within 24 hours with no wayleave delays.

3. Resilience matters as much as speed

Even the best connection can fail, and for a business running on cloud systems an outage can stop work entirely.

That's why more businesses are adding a backup connection, such as 5G, that takes over automatically if the main line drops. For a multi-tenanted building, where one failure can affect several occupiers at once, resilience is becoming part of what makes the building a safe choice.

4. Buildings are running on the network too

Building management systems, energy monitoring, CCTV, access control and fire and safety systems all rely on the same network infrastructure as the tenants.

Buildings designed with connectivity in mind are better placed to support these systems today and whatever comes next. It's also why security has to be part of the plan: the more a building runs on its network, the more that network needs protecting.

5. Every option, not just one

Not every site suits the obvious answer. Some locations have no fixed infrastructure, and some have weak mobile signal, which is why having every option available matters.

Fuse carries 5G, leased lines, ultrafast broadband and satellite. "The difficult sites are the ones where the obvious option isn't available," adds Jamie. "If a supplier only sells one answer, they'll either sell you the wrong one or tell you it can't be done. We try the sensible answer first and move to the one that works."

Connectivity is now a property advantage

Buildings with ready-to-go connectivity are easier to market, quicker to let and more appealing to the businesses landlords want to attract. For businesses, it means being able to get on with the job from day one.

Fuse works with landlords, managing agents and the businesses inside their buildings, so you don't need to own your premises to work with us. We connect, manage and protect the whole picture under one relationship, with everything installed, supported and run by Fuse.

Want to know how connectivity-ready your building is? Check any UK commercial address free with the Fuse Connectivity Checker at connect.fusecore.co.uk, or talk to Fuse on 0330 333 1166 or at enquiries@fusecorp.co.uk.