Beyond connectivity, Parks said telcos also have an opportunity to provide value-added and managed services for commercial and residential buildings alike.

Parks Associates, which tracks tech adoption in residential multi-family dwelling units (or MDUs, aka apartments and condos), pinned the U.S. figure at 34.4 million smart MDUs as of year-end 2024 and tipped that number to rise to 35.4 million by the end of 2025.

“Over the past five years, the smart MDU market has experienced rapid evolution, moving from being primarily a luxury amenity at select few communities and into wider adoption,” Elizabeth Parks, president and CMO at Parks Associates, told Fierce. Though the smart MDU market has slowed alongside new housing construction recently, Parks said retrofits of existing buildings are expected to continue to drive market growth.

“Smart amenities have considerable room to grow in the commercial, SMB, and residential building environments,” Parks said, noting these will be based on a foundation of in-building connectivity. 

“Telcos sit in a great position to build value beyond the pipe; this will require employing new technology platforms to offer new services and systems,” she continued. “The value will show up in many ways as an extension of the broadband network – it could be around safety and security, communications, remote control of lighting and HVAC systems, notifications of air quality, energy savings for the building, remote access, cyber and network services, and more.”

From the article, "Telcos have an in when it comes to in-building AI" by Diana Goovaerts