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
"Plans from Xfinity Mobile and Spectrum Mobile are generally much less expensive than comparable plans from the major mobile brands," says Kristen Hanich, senior analyst at the market research firm Pa...
It's no wonder that OTT is on everyone's mind. In 2016, Major League Baseball's streaming service, MLB.TV, was the fourth-most popular streaming service in the U.S., after Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon P...
Netflix and other streaming services have dealt with a variety of password-stealing schemes and other scams for years. Netflix announced earlier this year it was trying to crack down on password-shari...
Almost unheard of as recently as five years ago, smart speakers are on their way to becoming as ubiquitous as the microwave. As of early 2019, a third of U.S. homes with high-speed internet access had...