Page 18 - Nevada Cooperator Expo March 2019

18 THE NEVADA COOPERATOR
—MARCH 2019
NEVADACOOPERATOR.COM
Telecom for Your Community
Evaluating Available Options
BY MIKE ODENTHAL
A
s more and more of our daily lives
become more intertwined with
online entertainment and ser-
vices, internet access has become a home have fast enough speeds in all areas for want to do a bulk deal, we’d typically re-
utility along with electricity and running our digital cameras to properly function. duce our rate by 45-50 percent. So if you
water. Boards can take for granted that But that’s the extent of our problems.”
every resident in their building or com-
munity association wants reliable, fast in-
ternet service. While many communities
leave the selection of service providers family homes, and those don’t usually have The idea for us is that if you’re unhappy
to individual owners, others—especially movie screens or gadgets. Sometimes, with our service, you should be able to
those with shared community spaces in however, we will go the old-fashioned leave.”
which people expect wireless access—
have to decide as a board which available a spring block party, for example—where
provider is right for their association.
The Nevada Cooperator
spoke with watch a movie.”
representatives of several major telecom
providers to discuss what’s currently
available for associations – as well as with
management professionals to talk about
his client communities’ dealings with
these increasingly essential service pro-
viders.
Andrew Ringer, a community asso-
ciation manager with Ideal Community
Management in Las Vegas
The Nevada Cooperator: Have you had
any issues with any of your telecom service
providers?
AR: “The only thing that I’ve really ex-
perienced is that CenturyLink does not a reduced rate. Here at netBlazr, if you
Do you utilize any internet or entertain-
ment services in your common areas?
“Many of our HOAs consist of single-
route and hold community events—like
we’ll set up a projector for the residents to ket, and I’m not even sure whether New
Perry Wasserbauer, Market Develop-
ment Manager at netBlazr, a Boston-
based broadband provider
The Nevada Cooperator: What can you
tell us about bulk package deals for com-
munity associations and multifamily prop-
erties?
PW: “A bulk deal takes the idea that we You might be able to find providers in the
all need internet, whether that includes suburbs who will do a multifamily bulk
cable or (more rarely) phone... but you build-out or something of that nature,
take the basic premise that everyone in and those are typically more local inde-
the community wants and needs internet, pendent companies – but it’s touch and
and that if they band together and go all-
in with a specific provider, they can get
have 100 units, instead of paying $6,000,
you’d probably pay around $3,500. And
we’re different from some of the major
telecoms, as we don’t believe in contracts.
Are bulk packages catching on?
“Boston isn’t necessarily a bulk mar-
York is. But Chicago is definitely a bulk
market; they’re all about it there. I think
you’re going to see this a lot more in ur-
ban areas where you do have competition
– which is key in all of this – because you
can find really good rates. It can be frus-
trating if you’re an association outside of
a city where you have limited options.
go.”
What’s the market like for cable service
these days?
“It’s less of a utility, but it depends
on the demographics. Even older demos
have shifted somewhat toward Netflix
and Hulu [rather than traditional cable
TV]. There’s a lot of competition in the
subscription service market. Hulu or You-
Tube TV, Google... some of these offer 40-
50 channels live online and are all really
cool. With an Apple TV or Roku, you plug
it in, you have a streaming app and you’re
good to go. You have individual profiles
set up for everyone in your household,
with all of your favorites and your record-
ed shows, etc. There’s a lot that you can do
solely with internet service without that
older cable setup.”
What happens when the majority of
an association desires a bulk package, but
there are adamant holdouts who insist on
sticking with cable?
“The bulk deals are for the entirety of
the building. And individual units have
the option to go through another provid-
er, but the primary cost is for the whole
building. Sometimes not everyone will
want to be involved, but that shouldn’t
necessarily stop the entire process. Some
people just don’t like change. I’ve been to
plenty of condo board meetings and seen
some horror scenarios, but I’ve also seen
great, highly-functional associations. It’s
all about different people and different
personalities. Most people—especially
in a condo building where they have one
of the major providers and a triple-play
phone/internet/cable package--the rate at
which they started that service likely does
not exist anymore, and that package is not
even currently available. So you can save
a lot for everyone in the building with a
more streamlined bulk package catering
to their current interests and usage.”
Rafael Visbal, Regional Vice Presi-
dent of Commercial Development at
Comcast’s Hollywood, Florida offices
The Nevada Cooperator: What does
[Comcast subsidiary] Xfinity offer commu-
nity associations that’s unique when com-
pared to products and services for single-
family homes or multifamily rentals?
RV: “Let me start with the big picture.
Condos, gated communities, what have
you.... it’s a large part of our footprint
TRENDS
ISTOCKPHOTO.COM