The Case for Property-Wide Wi-Fi at Apartments

There’s a growing need for property-wide Wi-Fi in multifamily complexes. Tenants want Internet access in their units, but also when they’re in a gym, on a dog walk, sitting in a conference room, checking their laundry, or using any other amenity that comes with the rent.

Property staff also need ready access no matter where they are — checking on a tenant complaint, showing a unit to a prospect, working at the desk, or attending to property needs. Even building systems based on Internet of Things and tying sensors to data reporting and analysis applications.

“You have these properties, modern buildings with smart locks, smart TVs, sensors for the HVAC, EV chargers — They need real-time data,” Jameson Hartman, vice president at proptech investment firm RET Ventures that invests in related tech companies, tells GlobeSt.com.

When connections aren’t available, problems arise. ““How do we know there’s a leak? The IoT [water monitoring] device is disconnected,” Hartman says. “There’s technology that needs to be enabled. Not every property today is like that, but every year we get closer to IoT [in all applications]. We’ll continue to step function forward in terms of devices, maintenance. So far, this is the cheapest in terms of upfront costs and ongoing costs.”

Thoroughly outfitting new construction is relatively straightforward. The bigger and more expensive challenges come with the need to retrofit older buildings. “Prior to 2000, network infrastructure was an afterthought,” he says.

“A lot of new developments are doing ubiquitous Wi-Fi,” Hartman says. “Instant gratification is real. In terms of customer experience of the overall apartment moving process, the Wi-Fi experience has not been a headache, but hasn’t been spectacular.” It might take one to several days to get in installed, which irritates tenants.

“It’s been a tough space,” he admits. “The project management component of this is [difficult]. There’s a lot of complexity there.”

As for installation and maintenance vendors, Hartman says, “You want them to have resources and have a track record. All of the issues are realized in the first 30 days. It’s all on that up front side of things.” Once they have moved past the initial installation and configuration, things should work fairly smoothly, but only if the whole project has been done right. Vetting companies and finding other multifamily operations that have used them and were satisfied — meaning find other operators through your own network, not reference accounts a vendor hands you — is a must.