BROADBAND COMMUNITIES is the leading source of information on digital and broadband technologies for buildings and communities. Our editorial aims to accelerate the deployment of Fiber-To-The-Home and Fiber-To-The-Premises.
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Bandwidth Demand In Student Housing Unfettered, ubiquitous, reliable, high-speed Internet access in student housing is a make-or-break amenity. Owners must consider whether their infrastructure – and their contracts – will allow them to stay competitive. By Andrew Marshall ■ Campus Technologies Inc. I nternet bandwidth available to end users of networks will continue to grow rapidly over the next several years, and this growth will quickly ren- der ineffective or obsolete many student housing networks. Many off-campus student housing communities will be disadvantaged by having limited or no ability to change their current networks because of inflexible term contract ar- rangements and aging infrastructure. Student housing communities agile enough to implement high-speed, reli- able wired and wireless Internet access will gain competitive advantage. In recent years, the student hous- ing sector has matured and attracted the interest of investors. Higher enroll- ment rates and the lower volatility of the student housing sector made it a more attractive target for institutional and noninstitutional capital, resulting in new development despite the overall economic downturn. At the same time, the technology landscape has shifted dramatically and with it the expectations of student resi- dents. To meet these expectations, a stu- dent housing community must provide unfettered, ubiquitous wired and wire- less access with almost perfect reliability and very high end-user bandwidths. IS THERE REALLY MORE DEMAND FOR BANDWIDTH? Over the last 10 years, bandwidth de- mand by U.S. subscribers has been in- creasing, and bandwidth availability and the delivery mechanisms to satisfy those demands have also increased, About the Author Andrew Marshall is chief technology officer and executive vice president of Campus Technologies Inc., a full-service company that specializes in student housing technol- ogy. You can reach him at amarshall@campustechnologies.com. 34 | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | www.broadbandcommunities.com | OCTOBER 2012 Studies by the OECD show that global bandwidth is far higher than in the U.S. – indicating that U.S. bandwidth levels have plenty of room to grow. though not necessarily at the same level. Tere still appears to be significant la- tent demand for additional bandwidth and improved Internet performance, although many improvements occurred during 2011 and 2012. Te key drivers behind the spiraling demand for increased bandwidth are well documented. End users' expecta- tions are increasing commensurately, and a wide variety of rich-media appli- cations are now de facto standards and part of everyday culture. A 2012 study conducted by Sand- vine demonstrates the shift in the type of traffic on U.S. residential Internet connections. Te largest overall propor- tion is now Netflix (streaming video), which accounts for a massive 29 percent of utilization. "Traditional" Web traffic now accounts for only 11.5 percent of overall bandwidth utilization. A 2011 study of average advertised broadband speeds in 34 countries by the Organization for Economic Coopera- tion and Development shows the United States ranked 18th with an average of 29 Mbps. In terms of the fastest advertised bandwidth, the United States ranked 10th at 153 Mbps. Te OECD study shows that • Te global state of the art in terms of both maximum and average speeds is many times that of the United States, validating that U.S. band- width levels have plenty of room left to grow. • Consumer bandwidth at the high end now routinely exceeds 100 Mbps, and in some markets, average bandwidth exceeds 100 Mbps. • Growth in maximum and average bandwidth continues to meet or ex- ceed predictions. • Global numbers continue to be use- ful predictors of what is in store for the United States.