Bulk Internet: Is It Right for Your Property?

 

Your residents don’t want to think about where their internet comes from. They want it to be reliable, fast, and budget-friendly. When it checks these boxes, bulk internet is a great way to retain your existing residents and attract new ones.

But where this internet comes from is a crucial decision for you as a property owner or manager. Choosing the right solution can impact resident satisfaction, operational efficiency, and your bottom line.

In this article, we’ll cover the benefits and drawbacks of bulk internet as well as its most superior version — managed WiFi.

What Is Bulk Wi-Fi?

As the name suggests, bulk Wi-Fi (also just called bulk internet) involves buying “bulk” packages of internet services from your Internet Service Provider (ISP) so that you can offer them to your residents at a discounted rate compared to standard retail internet. This means lower costs for residents, less time setting up services on move-in, and a potential revenue stream for you.

This approach is increasingly attractive to property managers. According to research from Parks Associates, 57 percent of surveyed property managers report that they use bulk internet services, and 89 percent of those who don’t use them plan to implement these services in the next 12 months.

Bulk Wi-Fi vs. Managed Wi-Fi

What’s the difference between bulk Wi-Fi and managed Wi-Fi? Bulk and managed Wi-Fi are somewhat similar in that they involve delivering “bulk” internet service to a rental property. Where they differ is in their level of service and customization:

• Traditional bulk Wi-Fi involves purchasing a large package of internet services from an ISP (Internet Service Provider) and providing them to individual residents as part of their lease. Connectivity is delivered to the tenant’s unit through direct cabling, such as Ethernet or coaxial cables, which are installed throughout the building. In essence, it’s exactly what your resident would normally get from the ISP directly but provided at a cheaper price.
• Managed Wi-Fi involves a Managed Service Provider (MSP) providing customized, wide-ranging Wi-Fi access across a property. Think of this as a form of bulk internet with enhanced features, such as PMS integration capabilities and matching speeds for uploading and downloading (known as “symmetrical bandwidth”), which is a huge perk for gamers and high-performance users.

When you provide traditional bulk Wi-Fi to your residents, you’re including internet service as part of their lease at a discounted rate. But because you don’t manage that experience, there’s limited control over service reliability and personalized support.

Managed Wi-Fi, on the other hand, puts you in the driver’s seat on behalf of your residents, streamlining onboarding and support while boosting service quality.

What Are the Benefits of Bulk Internet?

Internet service is as non-negotiable as water, gas, or electricity. As such, bulk internet gives you a powerful tool: a way to provide easy, cost-effective access to this essential resource.

The benefits include:

• Lowering costs for residents: Bulk internet agreements typically offer a reduced cost per unit than individual plans, so you can pass those savings onto residents.
• Enhancing the value of the property: Modern renters expect a streamlined experience. With bulk internet, you give them peace of mind by wrapping service into the lease so that the resident only needs to turn on access and enjoy.
• Revenue generation: Depending on the internet package provided, you can earn a set fee per unit. However, the revenue potential of traditional bulk internet isn’t as high as compared to managed Wi-Fi, as we’ll explain later.

Traditional Bulk Internet: Is It Right for Your Property? 7 Factors to Consider

Traditional bulk internet can bring you several benefits, but that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily the best fit for your property or business goals. Here are some factors to consider when deciding if bulk internet is right for you, or whether to go with a managed WiFi approach:

Service Quality

One thing to consider with a traditional bulk internet package is that they often don’t come with Service Level Agreements (SLAs) that guarantee the experience or support. Conversely, bulk managed Wi-Fi SLAs will often include guarantees on network performance and uptime and come with standard support and 24/7 monitoring to catch issues before they impact residents’ connectivity.

• On the technical side, this can mean that residents may not get the internet speeds promised in their package, and they most likely won’t get symmetrical upload/download speeds — crucial factors for users who play online games or perform bandwidth-intensive work from home. Additionally, there may be more issues with downtime with traditional bulk internet. On the other hand, managed Wi-Fi services offer more reliable uptimes of over 98 percent.
• On the customer side, this can mean that residents with internet issues can face long wait times. According to the Vice President of MDU Sales at Touchstone 1, the difference in response times between managed and traditional bulk internet can be immense — the average time to get a person on the phone for managed services is 9 seconds with a first-call completion rate of 96.2 percent. For comparison, the average hold time for Comcast is 17 minutes.

With managed Wi-Fi, it’s also easier to advocate on behalf of your residents, says Senior Strategic Account Manager. “If you want a cohesive, VIP experience, you’ll want to lean toward managed Wi-Fi.”

Setup

With traditional bulk internet service, much of the burden for setup falls on the resident, who will have to handle coordinating hardware or network passwords or calling the ISP if any issues arise.

Managed Wi-Fi transfers this responsibility to the managed infrastructure and service provider, integrated with your Property Management System (PMS). In this way, managed Wi-Fi is always “instant on,” meaning that when new residents move in, you can have your MSP just send a link or QR code. “With just one click, the resident is up and running with their internet service,” says the Senior Strategic Account Manager for MDU Sales.

Resident Solicitation

An unspoken part of traditional bulk internet involves solicitation. Many bulk internet agreements include a requirement to allow the ISP to solicit your residents to upsell their packages. With managed internet, however, sales activity is only directed to the property owner or management.

“With traditional bulk,” says the VP of MDU Sales, “you’re literally inviting sales reps onto your property, knocking on doors to upgrade services. At minimum, it’s incredibly annoying. At worst, it’s a poor reflection on your property.”

Connectivity

Typically, Wi-Fi access is limited to a unit, and once a resident leaves, they lose connectivity.  Managed services, on the other hand, are known as “follow-me Wi-Fi,” which will support resident access in common areas and communal spaces like a pool, lounge, or shared work area without requiring the resident to sign in to slow or insecure public Wi-Fi networks. If you manage large or specialized properties like student housing, then follow-me Wi-Fi is a must-have.

A recent example is the renovation of the Capstone at Barton Chapel apartment complex. The developers determined that to modernize the property, they would include a completely revamped Wi-Fi network with managed internet access that would provide per-unit and full-property coverage.

They installed network hardware, including Ruckus access points, strategically so that the entire complex would have reliable Wi-Fi signal coverage at minimal expense. As part of the SLA, the property owners also enjoyed 24/7 support so they could swiftly address any network performance issues.

Age of Property

New Builds

When building a new property, managed Wi-Fi is a great investment. The construction phase is the easiest time to install the cabling needed for a managed system, and this solid network infrastructure will future-proof your property for the next 30 to 50 years.

A managed Wi-Fi network would come with a fiber optic cable backbone that connects the building to the primary internet service, supporting a bandwidth of up to 100 Gigabits per second (Gbps).

Existing Properties

Depending on the size of the property and your budget, simple bulk internet might be your best approach. However, many older properties are still great candidates for managed internet services. If replacing the infrastructure isn’t an option due to budget or resident occupancy, an existing property can benefit from a retrofit.

The key consideration is the current wiring in place. At the very least, a fiber backbone is essential. This network of fiber optic cables will connect the buildings and floors, providing a foundation for future upgrades.

“A fiber backbone will make it easy to continually upgrade the existing infrastructure over time without breaking your budget,” the VP of MDU Sales says. “Even if the cabling isn’t future-proof from the start, it’s scalable.”

This approach is viable for any multifamily property. He notes that installing managed Wi-Fi can benefit even lower-end properties. “Having an upgraded internet infrastructure is actually increasing our low-income housing property clients’ scores with the government, allowing them to qualify for higher funding.”

Property Size

Traditional bulk internet is typically a better fit for smaller properties. According to Touchstone 1, around 25 units is the cut-off for the viability of managed services. For properties with fewer than 25 units, the upfront costs might not be worth it, and traditional bulk internet is usually a better path to take.

Revenue Potential

While property owners can make revenue through bulk internet services, it’s not much — typically around $10 per door. On the other hand, owners with managed Wi-Fi can make as much as $40 to $130 per door.

Let’s break this down: a managed Wi-Fi company charges properties an ongoing monthly rate of $20 per unit on average. This gives the property owner or management control over pricing. If you want, you can pass that on at cost to your residents as an attractive perk. Or, if you’re focused on growing NOI, you can charge anywhere from $60 to $150 per unit, depending on the internet rates for the local market. This amounts to a revenue stream of $40 to $130 per unit per month.

For a property of around 200 units, that’s a profit of $8,000 to $26,000 per month. Over the course of a five-year contract with an MSP, the total revenue comes to $480,000 to $1.56M — far outweighing the costs of installing new wiring or retrofitting your property’s existing infrastructure.

Revenue potential ultimately depends on your pricing strategy.

Explore the Benefits of Bulk Managed Wi-Fi

If you’re looking at bulk internet for your property, it’s clear the benefits make it worth the investment. Due to factors such as superior customer service, the increasing demand for property-wide connectivity, and better revenue potential, the advantages of managed Wi-Fi outweigh those of traditional bulk internet.

 

Are you ready to elevate your property’s network and level up your resident experience? Touchstone 1 helps multifamily communities stay reliably connected with custom MDU Wi-Fi services built for real life. From new builds to retrofits, we make it easy to support your residents — and your operations — with a higher level of connection. Contact Touchstone 1 (formerly, MDU Internet Services) today to get started.