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
As new smartphone customers become harder to find in the U.S. mobile market, carriers are shifting their operational focus from growth in average revenue per user growth to churn management, according...
That streaming service is one way AT&T wants to ensure that younger consumers will still flow its way. A study by research firm Parks Associates found that nearly a quarter of millennial households ju...
But the trend toward live online subscriptions is expected to accelerate, which is why companies are diving in. One of the selling points for online video providers is that it is easy to sign up. C...
According to Parks Associates, a market research firm, 63 percent of U.S. households with broadband connections subscribed to at least one over-the-top video service at the end of September, up from 5...
