Providing market intelligence for more than 35 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

Vinyl Record Sales Are At A 28-Year High

The Biebs is just one of hundreds of artists who will be releasing vinyl albums on Record Store Day. Fans of the recently departed David Bowie will have a chance to get a limited edition pressing of s...

3 Reasons Amazon's New Prime Video Doesn't Threaten Netflix

Netflix has some of the most loyal customers among streaming video services. While 52% of U.S. broadband households subscribe to Netflix, just 5% cancelled a subscription (including free trials) in th...

Apple Investor Weekly: iPhone 7 Concerns Hit Stock, Investing $1 Billion In A Chinese Company

Parks Associates research shows that 23% of U.S. smartphone owners also own a smart home device and over three-fourths of those consumers use their smartphone, tablet, or PC to control their smart hom...

Apple TV Doubles Sales But Still Trails Google, Roku And Amazon

This suggests that Apple is actually doing nicely when it comes to its share of just the external set-top box streaming media player market; indeed, Parks Associates reveals that Apple TV is pretty mu...