By: Sarah Mabry & Rush Blakely

The Background

  • RealtyCom Partners’ client owns an off-campus student property in a midwestern market. Their existing managed Wi-Fi provider was under performing.  The property staff and residents were experiencing significant and consistent network issues and inadequate customer service.
  • RealtyCom Partners was engaged to review the existing provider’s agreement and the existing Wi-Fi deployment. We were then tasked to explore options to improve the Wi-Fi infrastructure and the resident experience.

The Work

  •  RealtyCom Partners met with the client to better understand their concerns with the current service, as well as the status and architecture of the current managed Wi-Fi network, equipment, and potential options for upgrading the network to improve the resident experience.
  • We sent out a comprehensive request for proposals to a group of five providers from our curated and vetted provider list. This included four (4) managed Wi-Fi service providers and one franchise operator.
  • Along with coordinating site surveys, we provided the client our Managed Wi-Fi Questionnaire to gather detailed information on the property and existing system architecture for providers conducting desk surveys and preparing budgetary proposals.
  • We reviewed and continued to negotiate submitted proposals, to identify the most suitable options to present to the client. After vetting the financial and term portions of the proposals, we paid special attention to the proposed scopes of work and bills of materials to identify the most suitable solution for the property with minimal impact to the staff and students during their school semester.
  • After evaluating the curated options presented by RealtyCom Partners, our client elected to proceed with Dojo Networks (dojonetworks.com) as their new provider.
  • We reviewed the proposed agreement templates to ensure all business, financial, and scope data aligned with the accepted proposal and coordinated final executable agreements.
  • We worked with the existing provider to unwind bulk TV services that were no longer desired by our client. This resulted in savings of over $60,000 annually.
  • We coordinated the delivery of a notice of non-renewal to avoid an automatic long-term renewal of the existing agreement. This allowed the agreement to be renewed on a month-to-month basis, giving flexibility as Dojo Networks began to work on a deployment plan.
  • We coordinated with Dojo Networks and the existing provider throughout the transition to maintain clear communication, confirm compliance with the scope of work, and monitor progress against the agreed-upon build-out timeline.
  • We held weekly calls and coordinated with both the property staff and Dojo Networks until the activation of services was complete. Proper training in the setting up of portal access, new connections and disconnections, and how best to report issues to Dojo was an important step to guarantee long-term customer support.
  • RealtyCom Partners held a final call to ensure lines of communication were in place and solicited feedback on the transition from the site team.

The Results

  • Dojo Networks completed their Managed Wi-Fi deployment in the early part of the fall semester.
  • The client’s feedback was that end user speeds, connectivity in general and customer support are vastly superior under Dojo Networks.
  • Going forward, RealtyCom Partners will continue to serve as a resource and point of support for the client. Additionally, we will monitor circuit utilization on a quarterly basis to ensure there is sufficient headroom to proactively prevent any negative impact on the resident experience.

About RealtyCom

RealtyCom Partners is a telecommunications asset management firm with 30+ experts with diverse real estate and telecom backgrounds. We specialize in identifying, negotiating and maximizing revenue to Owners of Multifamily real estate, while providing guidance on how to meet today’s technology demands and trends. RealtyCom Partners not only generates new revenue, but we also provide full contract lifecycle management and financial auditing services. We create millions of dollars in value to our clients by boosting NOI, reducing OpEx and creating new revenue opportunities.

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