A majority (82%) of multi-dwelling units (MDUs) over 10 years old report internet connectivity challenges, according to a recent study from Comcast’s Xfinity Communities in collaboration with Parks Associates.
Issues include maintaining device connections over a Wi-Fi network and insufficient bandwidth, which can be difficult to fix due to the infrastructure of older apartment buildings, said Jennifer Kent, VP of research at Parks Associates.
She explained that unlike newer MDUs, these buildings were built without suitable wiring or the infrastructure to run new wiring. Older MDUs may have thicker walls or various types of building materials.
“So they might be looking at the cost of having to run all new wire throughout the building…which is obviously very cost-intensive,” she said.
According to Kent, apartment residents that pay for internet as part of their rent or through their property manager tend to spend less than those with a retail plan. Parks Associates found MDU residents with a bulk internet arrangement pay around $40 per month, compared to $64 per month for retail internet.
Parks Associates noted these figures are “standalone” service prices, meaning these are residents who don’t have add-ons like pay TV or mobile bundled with their internet.
From the article, "Old apartment buildings have some big broadband infrastructure problems" by Masha Abarinova
Sling TV is on its way up and Sony PS Vue is still outside of the top 10 OTT services. Parks Associates released its 2016 top 10 service providers list showing a stable top 5 with indications that all...
Sprint cites Parks Associates, a market research firm, for stats on smartphone users, stating that 68 percent of smartphone owners listen to streaming music daily, while 71 percent watch short video c...
According to Parks, only 6 per cent of US broadband households rely on desktops exclusively, with an additional 6 per cent of households using only a combination of desktops and tablets. “Desktop a...
Wireless data usage is growing steadily from 2015 to 2016 as consumers shift data-heavy activities from desktop to mobile. According to Parks Associates’ latest survey data, average monthly wireless d...
