Your Next Apartment Might Come With Broadband

Internet access is increasingly a selling point for condos and apartments.

Lincoln Spector, special to PC World.com

Software engineer Zack Russell used to have DSL service from the telephone company in his Seattle condominium, but he wasn't happy with the service. "They were saying 'We'll be there between the hours of 8 and 5'" for repairs, Russell says.

Last fall, Reflex Communications wired his building for Internet access. He leaped at the chance to change providers, and has never regretted it. In addition to a threefold increase in bandwidth, service improved.

"It used to hiccup every so often," Russell says. "They got a tech to come out and solve the problem. And they let me choose a two-hour window--4 to 6, 1 to 3. I haven't had any problems since."

If your building isn't offering Internet access, it may soon. A recent report by the Cahners In-Stat Group finds that owners of apartment buildings and condominiums are scrambling to offer broadband access to their tenants. Roughly 5 percent of multitenant unit buildings in the U.S. already offer broadband, according to Amy Helland, an In-Stat research analyst. "We see it growing to approximately 50 percent by 2004," she says.

The current 5 percent is located almost entirely in high-rent districts. That's hardly surprising. People who want swimming pools and health clubs in their buildings are likely to pay for the best access.

But as broadband becomes more common, it will work its way down to less classy parts of town. Helland expects university neighborhoods to be the first low-rent areas to get wired apartments. High population density and higher computer usage will make it irresistible to apartment owners near campus.

Common Wiring Featured

As a resident of a wired building, your Internet connection is set up similarly to business broadband. As with DSL or cable, your PC connects via ethernet to a specialized modem, which plugs into the wall with a standard RJ-11 phone connector. The data travels through the building's twisted pair copper wire to a central hub, probably in the basement. From there, it would reach the Internet via T1, cable, microwave wireless, or some other technology.

Your building's provider--a company like Reflex Communications, which Russell uses--would probably bill you for the service. Or your landlord may deal with the provider directly and add the cost to your rent.

The cost of a built-in broadband account is competitive with DSL and cable, often starting at about $30 monthly. As with DSL, you can choose options to get more bandwidth. For instance, Russell was paying $93 a month for 384-kbps symmetrical DSL, which provides uploading and downloading at the same speed. He now pays $98 monthly, but he's getting a full megabit both coming and going.

Russell is sold. If he ever moves, "I would definitely look for a building with high-speed access," he says.