Broadband Communities

OCT 2016

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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4 | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | www.broadbandcommunities.com | OCTOBER 2016 EDITOR'S NOTE Broadband Communities (ISSN 0745-8711) (USPS 679-050) (Publication Mail Agreement #1271091) is published 7 times a year at a rate of $24 per year by Broadband Properties LLC, 1909 Avenue G, Rosenberg, TX 77471. Periodical postage paid at Rosenberg, TX, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to Broadband Communities, PO Box 303, Congers, NY 10920-9852. CANADA POST: Publications Mail Agreement #40612608. Canada Returns to be sent to Bleuchip International, PO Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2. Copyright © 2016 Broadband Properties LLC. All rights reserved. CEO Barbara DeGarmo / barbara@bbcmag.com PUBLISHER Nancy McCain / nancym@bbcmag.com E D I TO R - I N - C H I E F Masha Zager / masha@bbcmag.com E D I TO R -AT- L A R G E Steven S. Ross / steve@bbcmag.com ADV ER T ISING SALES ACCO U N T E X E C U T I V E Irene Prescott / irene@bbcmag.com E V E N T S CO O R D I N ATO R Dennise Argil / dennise@bbcmag.com CO M M U N I T Y N E W S E D I TO R Marianne Cotter / marianne@bbcmag.com DESIGN & PRODUC T I O N Karry Thomas CO N T R I B U TO R S David Daugherty, Korcett Holdings Inc. Heather Burnett Gold, FTTH Council, NA Joanne Hovis, CTC Technology & Energy Michael A. Kashmer, Digital Broadband Programming Consultant W. James MacNaughton, Esq. Christopher Mitchell, Institute for Local Self-Reliance Henry Pye, RealPage, Inc. Bryan Rader, Bandwidth Consulting, LLC Craig Settles, Gigabit Nation Robert L. Vogelsang, Broadband Communities Magazine B ROAD BAN D PRO PE R TI E S LLC CEO Barbara DeGarmo V ICE PR ESIDEN T, BUSINESS & OPER AT I ONS Nancy McCain CHAIR MAN OF T HE BOAR D Robert L. Vogelsang V ICE CHAIR MAN The Hon. Hilda Gay Legg BUSINESS & EDI TOR IAL OFFICE BROADBAND PROPER T IES LLC 19 09 Avenue G • Rosenb erg, T X 77471 281. 342.9 655 • Fa x 281. 342.1158 w w w. bro adb andcommunities .com masha@bbcmag.com D edicated work space is a recent concept. In preindustrial times, people lived where they worked and worked where they lived. In the early industrial age, most manufacturing was subcontracted to "cottage industry" producers. In the mid-19th century, when large factories became the norm, workers were often housed at factories; the advent of good roads and fossil fuel–powered vehicles made possible today's system of racing back and forth, breathing noxious fumes and risking life and limb to keep home and work lives neatly separated. Now the pendulum is swinging back. Communication is beginning to replace transportation. Employees are choosing to forgo commuting and work from home, the neighborhood coffee shop or a nearby coworking space, and employers are encouraging those choices. Home-based businesses are on the rise, too – more than 15 million people in the United States are self-employed, and many others run home-based "side businesses." LIVE, WORK, LIVE AND WORK e first e-lofts building opened this fall in Alexandria, Virginia. e developer, Novus Residences, divided this former office building into 200 loft-style units that tenants can use for living, working or living and working. (Separating work and living spaces is "anachronistic," the developer says.) e neighborhood is zoned for commercial and residential construction. E-lofts offers everything from a pet salon to conference facilities, coworking and breakout rooms, media presentation rooms, business-quality electrical wiring and soundproof music practice facilities. e premier amenity, of course, is fiber to the unit. Clearly, the developer understands that today's home-based workers need fast, reliable, symmetrical internet access. E-lofts is, admittedly, on the bleeding edge. Most MDU residents don't aspire to do more with their internet connections than watch Netflix without buffering. Many are relieved to leave work behind at the end of the day. Still, the demand for business-quality broadband in residential units is real, and it will only increase as the boundary between business and residence collapses. Property owners concerned about future-proofing their buildings need to ask whether residents will want to watch 8K ultra-HD video, play virtual-reality video games or consult their doctors via telemedicine portals. In addition, they should ask whether residents will want to upload daily footage of their in-progress films, hold videoconferences with eight colleagues, read MRI scans, analyze stock market data in real time, answer tech support calls or teach yoga classes remotely. Being able to support these activities, and more, may be what sets a great multifamily community apart from a merely good one. v The Future of MDUs As work life and home life converge, some multiple- dwelling-unit (MDU) property owners prepare to support office-style technology in residential buildings.

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