By: Rush Blakely and Cristy Boucher
Our team just returned from one of the most forward-thinking industry conferences of the year – one that continues to signal a major shift in how multifamily owners and operators need to be thinking about connectivity, Managed Wi-Fi, and the regulatory environment surrounding bulk services.
Our conversations with more than 20 service providers, combined with sessions led by industry experts, reinforced one message: the landscape is changing fast, and owners who understand these shifts will be best positioned to deliver a better resident experience while protecting operational and financial outcomes.
Below are our top three takeaways in case you missed the event, along with insights into where providers are headed in 2026 and why states are becoming the new drivers of telecom regulation.
- Legislative Knowledge Is Now a Competitive Advantage
If one theme dominated our discussions at this year’s conference, it was the accelerating pace of legislative and regulatory change. New and emerging state laws governing bulk and Managed Wi-Fi deployments – particularly around fees, resident opt-outs, and what owners can or cannot charge – are reshaping the way communities must structure their service agreements. Expect continued scrutiny of:
- bulk billing agreements
- owner chargebacks
- resident opt-out rights
- fee transparency
If these trends continue owners must understand how new laws will affect both operations and long-term financial planning. Working closely with local counsel and national telecom attorneys will be increasingly important to mitigate risk and ensure compliance.
In addition to close scrutinization over the chosen amenity fee charged to residents, Owners now need to answer questions that weren’t even part of contract discussion a few years ago:
- Is resident Wi-Fi access manageable through a property management portal, or only by the provider?
- Can the provider remotely disable wired ports in the unit, if needed for opt-out compliance?
- Will bulk billing adjustments be made automatically when residents opt out – or will renegotiation be required later?
- If opt-out sentiment grows, can the provider shift to retail direct-to-resident billing?
- What alternative managed Wi-Fi business models should I consider as more regulation is rolled out?
Evaluating bulk value is no longer only about speed and price. It’s about flexibility – the provider’s ability to adapt with you as laws continue to evolve.
As the President of Pavlov Media, Bryan Rader, reminded attendees, owners should be prioritizing Managed Wi-Fi for three reasons (and in this order): resident experience, operational efficiency, economics. This is truer than ever before.
- Enhancing Digital Connectivity Requires Early Planning and Flexible Design
Another major focus area was the importance of designing digital infrastructure far earlier in the development process. As resident bandwidth needs skyrocket and connectivity expectations rise, pre-planning is essential.
Sessions emphasized:
- Thoughtful cabling decisions, such as Cat6 vs. fiber-to-the-unit, based on build type and long-term scalability.
- Legal compliance baked into design, not added later as a retroactive fix.
- Strategic partnerships with providers who can evolve their networks and processes as technology and legislation shift.
The message continued to be reinforced that multifamily communities require living, adaptable infrastructure. Ongoing evaluation of network performance, equipment health, and bandwidth demand must become standard practice.
- Redundancy Was the Word of the Conference
While redundancy has always been recommended in Managed Wi-Fi deployments, this year underscored a hard truth: redundancy is crucial, and very few projects are doing it correctly.
Comcast’s VP of Multifamily Product Strategy, Erica Sivertson, shared data that speaks for itself:
- The average household now uses 800 GB of data per month
- There are on average 36 connected devices per home
- 94% of these depend on a stable Wi-Fi connection
With this volume, a single point of failure is unacceptable.
True redundancy means:
- Two fully diverse physical pathways for circuits entering the property and the Main Distribution Frame (MDF).
- Two distinct circuit carriers.
- Intelligent design that includes both Wi-Fi and Ethernet to support stability and provide backup options.
The sessions also highlighted the importance of maintaining smart building systems. Equipment must be monitored continuously to prevent devices from falling offline and to ensure that multi-gig switches perform as expected. As demand grows, networks must be able not only to keep up but to respond.
Looking Ahead to 2026
One of the most valuable parts of the conference was meeting directly with many of the service providers we partner with. Their 2026 roadmaps revealed a few clear priorities:
- Multi-gig deployments accelerating across portfolios
- Greater automation and AI-driven oversight, including platforms like Ruckus One and Elemento
- More proactive monitoring to maintain uptime and prevent resident-impacting outages
- Preparation for legislative disruption, particularly in California, Colorado, and many other states looking to regulate how owners charge and pass through fees to residents
Providers understand regulatory shifts will continue and they are only beginning to adjust business practices accordingly.
How We’re Supporting Clients Through These Changes
Our priority is ensuring owners and operators remain informed, prepared, and protected as the regulatory and technological environment evolves. We are actively helping clients:
- Choose providers who offer the flexibility needed for future compliance
- Evaluate the value of bulk and Managed Wi-Fi under new legal frameworks
- Model long-term financial impacts of opt-outs, provider changes, and billing shifts
- Navigate legislative changes with the help of legal and telecom specialists
- Plan infrastructure strategies that scale with both resident demand and new regulations
Final Thoughts
This conference made one thing abundantly clear: the future of multifamily connectivity is being shaped simultaneously by technology, resident expectations, and state-level legislation. Owners who plan ahead – choosing flexible partners, investing in infrastructure, and staying informed – will be best positioned to adapt.
We’ll continue to keep you updated as the landscape evolves and are always available to help you assess your current strategy or plan for your next project.
If you’d like a deeper discussion about how these changes may impact your community, we’re here to help. Check out our article here that we will update regularly with the latest regulatory changes we’re aware of.
