The multifamily landscape – which can include market-rate housing, homeowner communities, student housing and assisted living – is rapidly changing, primarily driven by evolving resident expectations. Residents expect more than a simple home Internet connection. From today’s work-from-home culture and shift to streaming services, to the growing smart-home and connected devices landscape – residents of multifamily communities want connectivity beyond the Internet.
Residents’ chief expectation is instant access to fast and reliable Internet. In fact, according to recent research by Parks Associates, 71% of renters find WiFi/Internet immediately available upon move-in important or very important. To meet residents’ growing connectivity expectations, property owners, university administrators, and IT directors alike, are turning to bulk Internet services.
In a bulk Internet deployment, the property provides Internet connectivity to all the community's residential units. The property itself is billed for the service in bulk and residents of the property can access their unit's connectivity as an amenity. Along with meeting resident expectations, bulk Internet can also be used to attract new residents and create a competitive advantage.
The advantages of bulk Internet
Some communities allow residents to choose their own Internet package, creating unintended challenges for residents and property staff by overwhelming them with multiple providers, equipment, and billing to manage. Over the long term, switching to bulk Internet translates to fewer installs (and the costs associated with it) and less equipment to manage. Additionally, multifamily property owners can increase revenue by switching to a bulk – this is because a bulk Internet service is provided to a property owner at a reduced price, resulting in inherent cost savings.
With a reliable network infrastructure, connectivity becomes the backbone for an entire ecosystem of devices and technologies. On the back-end side, property owners can bundle connectivity offerings with entertainment packages for residents – including popular streaming services. A strong network foundation is critical to support the proliferation of Internet-enabled devices and services among today’s consumers. Even more, smart technologies powered by a reliable Internet connection can also allow for virtually staffed, self-guided tours for potential residents, helping property staff prioritize other building needs. From the end-user side, residents can utilize smart-home technologies that connect to the Internet, like a security and doorbell system or smart locks.
Considerations when implementing bulk Internet
One of the biggest considerations for property owners is to be selective about the Internet providers that they partner with. Conducting extensive research is imperative, as well as understanding all the solutions that internet providers offer. Providers might offer competitive pricing, so it is essential that property owners understand the credibility of who they are partnering with.
Providers that own their network prevent any uncertainty into reliability and customer experience. An end-to-end Internet experience owned and managed by one provider can create fewer technical support challenges – they can hone-in on any issues right away and work to solve them quickly. Additionally, a network owned by a provider can ensure that a property is set up for the future. As resident bandwidth needs increase, an Internet service provider can keep up with those increases by continuing to evolve the network's capabilities and maintaining the network’s infrastructure and sustainability.
Some other factors that property owners should take into consideration are the ability to adjust utilization and bandwidth rates to make sure that residents have a great experience on the network, even at peak usage hours. Additionally, providers who can offer access to 24/7 customer service are important as well whenever property staff or their residents have questions, which can in turn deliver a better resident experience.
Lastly, bulk Internet should be seen as a constantly evolving service and providers should be able to grow with a building’s network as a property owner evolves their bulk strategy in a community. Whether a property owner is focused on cost, revenue or offering the next generation of technology, it is imperative all options be reviewed thoroughly for the best connectivity experience.
What’s next for bulk Internet
The smart technology space is rapidly evolving and some properties might find difficulty in keeping up with the latest technology trends. Even more, as the number of connected devices – from video services to door locks – increases, it is critical that a building’s Internet infrastructure is reliable enough to withstand bulk bandwidth needs. With this, it is important to partner with a robust network provider that is not only an expert in the fast evolving smart solutions space, but also understands the reliability and bandwidth needs of a property.
With reliable bulk Internet in place, IoT is also becoming increasingly prevalent in buildings, as it captures data from all the devices being used. This data can be collected, analyzed and managed to produce useful insights for property owners to act on - from streamlining operations to reducing costs to energy management, ultimately making spaces smarter.
Today, bulk Internet may just be an attractive amenity for residents. However, it is much more than that – it is the gateway for tomorrow’s technologies, powering the future of smart and connected ecosystems. By investing in a reliable, robust network now, multifamily properties are securing their foundation to support the next generation of technologies as well as the next generation of resident needs.
