2020 is a challenging year for multifamily broadband, but it presents opportunities as well as dangers.

There are provisions common to multiple pending broadband funding bills; expect them to end up in H.R.2, which the Senate should vote on after the November 3 elections.

Broadband players can and should do more than provide broadband. They should support causes they care about.

New business models by technology suppliers are making TV as a Service a possibility for MDU specialists. Can the industry benefit from these changes, or are the quality of service risks too high?

Service providers find new opportunities to build managed Wi-Fi networks that support voice, data and building-management applications.

New solutions promise faster installation of high-speed broadband in MDU buildings.

Emerging broadband technologies and smart devices have the potential to provide strong value for channel partners and their MDU customers.

Gigabit services often bypass MDUs and home clusters because of the construction disruption and high cost of bringing fiber to each housing unit.

The pandemic has laid bare the critical importance of network infrastructure and the importance of the multifamily industry’s relationship with connectivity providers.

Private construction of multiple-dwelling-unit buildings is hitting a new record this year, with about 525,000 housing starts expected.

At the Broadband Communities Virtual Summit 2020, participants shared stories about how they are driving broadband into multifamily properties to enable higher speeds and provide a host of IoT services for residents and building owners. Following are some highlights of conference sessions focused on the multifamily market.

It’s actually cheaper to build in rural than in urban areas, and FTTH systems in rural areas can be profitable even with very few subscribers.

The partnership takes on Germany’s goals to nationally expand gigabit networks by 2025 and to expand fiber infrastructure in schools and local enterprises.

The city is the first in the nation to enable 911 staff to take and dispatch calls from home during the pandemic.

CenturyLink cites time to market and network speeds as the reasons to migrate to XGS-PON as the next evolution in its fiber-based broadband plan for consumers and business customers.

The IT edge will play an important role in what 5G becomes and how it is optimized, but ownership of that edge remains an open question. The answer could be transformative for telcos and data center operators alike.