Survey shows internet now treated as essential utility, but gaps in strategy and service hinder performance in multifamily properties
Maravedis Research recently completed its annual Property Owners’ Telecom Strategy & Sentiment Survey, gathering insights from 65 multifamily property owners, managers, and executives across the United States during Q3 2025. The results reveal important trends about how the industry approaches internet connectivity — and where significant gaps remain between expectations and execution.
Internet as essential infrastructure
The survey confirms what many in the industry already suspected: Internet connectivity has fundamentally shifted from amenity to essential utility. All respondents — 100% —recognize internet quality as important or very important to residents, placing it alongside water and electricity in terms of resident expectations.
However, satisfaction levels tell a different story. The industry’s Net Promoter Score indicates considerable room for improvement, with only 29% of property owners actively recommending their current ISP providers.
This gap points to operational challenges rather than technical ones. While network speeds continue to improve, respondents frequently cite issues with service interruptions, unresponsive customer support, installation practices that don’t align with property protocols, and price increases that aren’t matched by service improvements.
The value of documented strategy
One of the clearer findings from our research involves the relationship between documented telecom strategies and operational outcomes. Properties with written telecom strategies consistently report fewer resident complaints, reduced operational burden, and stronger provider accountability compared to those without formal documentation.
Despite this correlation, many property owners — particularly those managing portfolios under 5,000 units — have not yet developed codified standards.
Survey participants universally agreed that strategic documentation improves outcomes, but translating that belief into action remains a challenge for many organizations.
Effective telecom strategies typically include design baselines such as Wi-Fi access point density requirements and structured cabling specifications, performance standards including uptime SLAs and mean time to resolution targets, escalation frameworks with designated contacts organized by issue severity, and installation governance procedures that ensure compliance with property rules and quality standards. Telecom strategies also have an important financial dimension.
Revenue generation and service quality
Most surveyed property owners generate between $50 and $100 in annual telecom revenue per unit, with monetization representing a primary strategic goal for many organizations. An important nuance emerged from the qualitative responses: property owners view revenue opportunities favorably, but not at the expense of service quality.
Some respondents expressed concern that revenue “wasn’t worth the hassle” when service problems created additional operational burden. The more common perspective, however, treats telecom partnerships as legitimate revenue opportunities when they simultaneously deliver improvements in reliability and resident experience. Successful approaches align provider incentives with concrete performance metrics such as uptime guarantees, responsive support, and efficient move-in processes.
Provider selection beyond brand names
The survey included respondents working with national MSOs, regional carriers, and managed service providers. An interesting pattern emerged: provider brand recognition appears less important than partnership quality and operational responsiveness.
Several respondents noted that regional and smaller operators often outperform national carriers in areas like responsiveness and customization to property-specific needs. In the current market, reliability, clear communication, and smooth day-to-day operations create more differentiation than speed specifications or promotional pricing alone.
For providers, this represents both a challenge and an opportunity. The low industry NPS suggests widespread dissatisfaction, but also indicates that providers willing to focus on operational fundamentals — consistent uptime, responsive support, professional installation practices — can differentiate themselves meaningfully.
Moving forward: Treating telecom as managed infrastructure
The survey results suggest the industry is at a transition point. As connectivity takes on utility-like importance, the approach to managing telecom partnerships needs to evolve accordingly.
Rather than treating internet service as a loosely managed amenity, properties that implement structured governance tend to achieve better outcomes. Practical steps identified by higher-performing respondents include establishing telecom standards documentation for each property, planning stabilization periods following new installations to identify and resolve issues, creating clear installation governance that protects property interests, implementing regular business reviews with providers that tie consequences to measurable performance, and future-proofing infrastructure with emerging technologies like Wi-Fi 7.
The research indicates that properties implementing these structured approaches see benefits across multiple dimensions: operationally through reduced staff burden, financially through more stable revenue and fewer service-related costs, and in resident satisfaction metrics that increasingly influence renewal rates.
