The Future of MDU Tech
Multiple Dwelling Units (Apartments/Condos etc.) can now offer technology that is cost prohibitive to most home owners.
Haas Entertainment, partnered with Dish Network, offers developers and owners of multiple dwelling units (MDUs) bulk managed Wi-Fi and video service. Apartment owners and developers can now buy these services in bulk and either sell them to individual units or offer them at no charge as an incentive to boost occupancy. The best part is the speed of internet and quality of programming is faster, better and far less expensive than what an individual home owner could get for themself.
Dish Fiber
Dish Fiber, as it’s called, lets apartment building owners package a managed WiFi service — with speeds up to 1 gigabit per second — and a bundle of video programming with packages ranging from a live streaming TV service with 24 channels selected by the property to fuller video offerings through its Dish’s Hopper hardware.
Dish Business general manager of business development Nate Block said that in a recent interview 94% of residents ranked high-speed internet as the top apartment feature.
Chris Rock of Haas Entertainment added the following: “Great picture quality, fast internet and reliable Wi-Fi are among the top technologies that our clients demand. We can now do the same thing for apartments and condos that we’ve been doing for luxury houses…at a less expensive price per family.”
Bonus for the tenants
According to Dish, tenants & residents can upgrade video service without a credit check, long-term commitment or a technician visit. Having quality television content along with speeds up to 10X what they would normally get makes for a very exciting package especially when the cost is lower than what they as an individual would pay for that service.
Smartbox Technology
Smartbox is the name of Dish’s headend video distribution platform for commercial applications. This technology allows streaming TV service via a single, centralized satellite dish rather than having dozens of dishes attached to the individual balconies etc. The high-quality video content is then delivered over the property’s IP network. Eliminating the need for individual satellite dishes and a separate coax network for video is a game changer for these types of buildings.
“Nobody prefers living in a building with antennas or satellite dishes are bolted to every balcony and window. People don’t want to see their tech anymore. People want good, fast and invisible.” said Rock. “The way to do that is with thoughtful pre-wiring and intelligent placement of network endpoints.”
Dish Business director of product and business development Josh Rowe said the internet service is delivered through a DIA [Dedicated Internet Access] circuit to the property either through a direct fiber connection or a point-to-point millimeter wave connection where fiber is aggregated to a central location and delivered wirelessly. “Ultimately we own those connections into the building, so it is fully managed by Dish.”
According to a Dish TV press release penned by president Brian Neylon; “The decision of choosing an internet and TV provider has historically been left to residents, which is more complicated and time-consuming for the consumer, and limits property owners’ revenue opportunity. By eliminating the common pain points often associated with competing providers, Dish Fiber provides residents with the services they want in one solution, while giving property owners more ways to monetize their highly-valued amenities.”
New Construction or Retrofit?
The best time to implement this new technology is during new construction, aka the design and build stage, however MDU building owners can also retrofit this technology into their existing structures.
The best option for those interested in this new technology or even to get a project evaluation is to reach out to Chris Rock at Haas Entertainment. 310-641-4700 chris@haasentertainment.com
Leave a Comment