- The new offering brings fiber to every unit of a multi-dwelling property
- It also brings Wi-Fi 7, the latest Wi-Fi technology
- It's a bulk-billing arrangement with the MDU owner, but tenants opt-in
GFiber has worked with multi-dwelling-unit (MDU) owners and residents since practically the inception of Google Fiber, using fixed wireless access (FWA) technology and mmWave spectrum for those projects under its Webpass brand.
But now, GFiber is beginning to offer managed Wi-Fi for MDUs, via bulk-billing arrangements. And it debuted its first managed Wi-Fi property at the new 896-unit Pacifica Place property in Irvine, California.
Starting this month, Pacifica Place residents can opt-in to receive 3 gig symmetrical fiber broadband, augmented with Wi-Fi 7 technology, for their units.
Nick Saporito, head of product at GFiber, said, “We're really excited about this managed Wi-Fi product because it's fiber to every unit. So, we're actually delivering 3 gig symmetrical service over the fiber network to every single unit. It is not just one single pipe that's distributed across the entire property.”
To put a fine point on it, he said, “We have a home-run fiber to every unit. There's an ONT in every unit for the 3 gig to terminate, and then off of that, there's a Wi-Fi 7 access point that's ceiling-mounted in every unit.”
The Irvine Company, owner of Pacifica Place, also worked with GFiber to provide fiber-based Wi-Fi throughout all the community spaces at the property, including the pool area and parking garage. GFiber worked with the vendor Quext on the project so that residents can also use their Wi-Fi to manage devices such as thermostats, lights, locks and access control systems.
“The tenants of that property can pretty much always be on the Wi-Fi network,” said Saporito.
He wasn’t sure whether tenants at Pacific Place have other choices for their broadband provider. GFiber works with the building owner for a bulk-billing arrangement, and the building owner sets the price for the individual tenants and determines if other providers can serve the building.
Controversy with bulk billing
A couple of years ago, bulk billing arrangements for MDUs came under fire from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) under former Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. She wanted to ban such arrangements because some tenants had complained they were deprived of choice and competition.
However, the new FCC under Chairman Brendan Carr nixed that initiative.
Saporito said, “The solution that we've designed here for Pacifica Place is actually designed to be an opt-in model at its core. So, I think we've kind of designed it with some assumptions around the regulatory environment.”
What’s the difference between Webpass and the new bulk billing product?
GFiber Webpass is the service Google acquired in 2016. It primarily serves apartments and condos in dense urban markets such as Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Denver, Miami and San Diego.
Webpass works by delivering connectivity to a rooftop antenna using FWA, then distributing service within the building over Ethernet or existing wiring. Individual residents buy the service directly from GFiber, often as an alternative to cable broadband.
In contrast, the new MDU offering brings fiber to the building and then to each individual unit. GFiber works through the property owner to provide new residents with immediate access to Wi-Fi upon move-in.
“Pacifica Place is our launch property for this product, said Saporito, but we do also have a healthy sales pipeline across all of our markets for this new product.”
Wi-Fi routers and GFiber’s sale to Astound
GFiber is using Cambium Network Wi-Fi routers for Pacifica Place. It’s unclear whether these routers are made in the U.S. or not, and whether that will be a problem with the FCC’s recent ruling that Wi-Fi routers must be made in the U.S.
Finally, GFiber is spinning off from its parent company Alphabet to merge with private equity-backed operator Astound Broadband.
Fierce asked if the merger with Astound will affect GFiber’s new business working with apartment owners on bulk-billing arrangements.
Saporito said, “My product roadmap and product plans are the same today as they were the day before that [Astound] announcement. So, we're just full steam ahead on what's already on the books for our plan."