In this work, a compact dual-band frequency selective surface (FSS) for path-loss and coverage improvement in advanced wireless communication is showcased. The proposed FSS is a single-layer design with stable and high performance at both 24 GHz and 38 GHz operating frequencies, respectively. The design is highly compact with two wide-band reflection coefficient responses having 49.5% (14.5-26.4 GHz) and 66.57% (35.8-39.8 GHz) bandwidth respectively. To the best of the author's knowledge, the proposed structure is the most compact design reported thus far with [Formula: see text] electrical length at the lower cutoff frequency. With the proposed design architecture, it is easy to reconfigure the FSS. The small size of [Formula: see text] enables effective operation in different communication environments. For coverage improvement and experimental validation, a [Formula: see text] element array of the total footprint of [Formula: see text] is fabricated and measured. The measured results demonstrate a significant coverage enhancement of up to 35 dB, for the Ku band, N257, and N260 millimeter wave (mm-wave) 5G bands. The proposed design is useful to enhance 5G mm-wave communication by tackling the fading effects or the presence of obstacles.