Providing Market Intelligence for 40 Years

In The News

Old apartment buildings have some big broadband infrastructure problems

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.

Average internet spending MDUsAccording 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 

Previously In The News

CFX Tech: Roku Branching Out with Smart Speaker FCC Filing

All signs show the smart home market is heading for a boom. It’s expected to hit $53bln in 2022, according to Zion Market Research. That doesn’t just mean smart speakers. That includes everything from...

Parks Associates: Amazon Grows Share of Streaming Video Players, Roku Maintains Lead

As the percentage of U.S. households that own streaming media players climbed to nearly 40 percent at the beginning of 2018, Roku managed to maintain its lead in market share while Amazon is gaining g...

Instant View: Federal Judge OKs AT&T Takeover of Time Warner

BRETT SAPPINGTON, DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT RESEARCH DIRECTOR, PARKS ASSOCIATES, DALLAS: "If you're AT&T, who do you want to include in your own skinny bundle? The channels you own. This means if you'r...

Esports Invasion: Overwatch League Finds Distribution on Disney XD, ESPN

It’s further evidence of the gap between esports and the mainstream coming to a close. The demand for esports content is only rising, with 10% of US broadband households watching it, according to rece...