As home working increases and social media and traditional media formats move ever more to digital, FOBO – Fear Of Being Offline – fills many people with dread, and in the Build to Rent market it would be inconceivable to rent an apartment where a guest could not get online immediately.

With this reliance on ubiquitous high-speed connectivity, making sure your building has great Wifi is crucial. Curve IT believes that to ensure you are competitive in the marketplace you should have a clear strategy for what you want to deliver and how you will achieve it.

BTR operators might want to consider some questions around the provision of Wifi:

• How can resident and customers connect? And their guests?
• Should you block certain content?
• Should Wifi be available only in certain areas?
• Will you charge, and if so how, when, what for, and how much?
• Should speed or the number of devices be limited?

For project planning this can raise many questions. The first decisions should probably be around the build to rent internet network and whether this is something that the Operator wants to provide and manage themselves, or contract out to a company, or whether each individual supplier of IP services will provide their own. Is this likely to be in a capex or an opex budget?

At RIBA stage 1-3 it’s imperative that the M&E specification – and the vendor proposals received from this – match your ideas and values in your brand standard. If the design does not reflect what you want to achieve then variations and additional costs become more likely. Or worse you have a sub-standard installation of technology services.

Curve IT has years of experience working with customers to define their brand standards, and designing and creating solutions to meet these. We have advised on Wifi, networks, broadband provision, structured cabling, voice services, CCTV, TV and IPTV solutions amongst others.

We can talk about your wishes and requirements and can be reached at contact@curveit.com or 01273 806220

The post Why BTR Operators need a Technology Brand Standard appeared first on Curve IT.

Curve IT adopts a visionary approach to creating a scalable IT infrastructure for MDUs, delivering high-speed, building-wide, reliable and secure network connectivity from day one. Curve IT is a trusted partner of high-end property developer Essential Living, providing innovative technological solutions for its flagship PRS developments.

We collaborate with architects, contractors and operational management teams to deliver the most efficient, cost effective and future proof technology.

Curve IT’s extensive experience with traditional and modular construction techniques enables our consultants to project manage the entire technological installation within an MDU.

Working within the RIBA Plan of Work schedule and to the Prince 2 methodology, accredited engineers install everything, from structured cabling to access points.

An IT infrastructure fully aligned with client expectations

• Curve IT consultants provide the critical link between the construction and operational teams, and integrate with the M&E contractor.
• Our knowledge of build and other service requirements enables us to identify the risks and constraints involved in the delivery of an integrated network.
• We supply all the hardware and software required for the IT infrastructure for MDUs
• High capacity, reliable broadband and WiFi are installed to ensure personal, private and secure networks for tenants, at business speeds – from day one.
• Curve IT consultants help clients to address tech-related decisions such as speed of access and cabling, recommending enterprise grade equipment within budget.
• We can advise on and provide bandwidth.
• Temporary internet, telephony and IT services can be provided during the build phase. 

Meeting high technological expectations

• Curve IT delivers building-wide, private and secure personal networks for individual tenants from day one, with broadband speeds of up to 1Gb/second.
• Carefully designed placement of WiFi access points means residents have superb access throughout the entire building, whilst minimising the number of points needed, so saving money for the build.
• The Curve IT Personal Area Network means that the residents have access to their own network, wherever they are in the building, such as the gym or lobby, creating a seamless experience for the resident.

The post BUILD: Turning innovative design concepts into robust IT infrastructure for MDUs appeared first on Curve IT.

The multi-tenant sector is one of the hardest environments in which to deliver robust WiFi networks, with hundreds of residents living in close proximity using multiple devices, often at the same time.

Providing an IT infrastructure to support a multi-dwelling unit (MDU) requires a deep understanding of the fundamentals of WiFi technology.

The benefits of calling in Curve IT from the word go

• Curve IT are involved from RIBA stage 3 onwards.
• Curve IT consultants begin by establishing the client’s aims for the residents and the building. An early site visit enables our IT team to brainstorm with and advise PRS developers, translating concepts into a tech spec which can be incorporated before construction even begins.
• Using the most technologically advanced industry tools and techniques available, Curve IT will carry out a site survey across your premises, determining where there is most demand and identifying ‘dead spots’.
• We provide comprehensive recommendations to create a secure, successful and fully scalable WiFi network.
• Curve IT recommends a converged network, which is more efficient than multiple networks. The hardware cabling design can be fitted alongside other services rather than being retrospectively installed and the use of multiple communication modes on a single network offers a convenience and flexibility that is not possible with separate infrastructures. (By using a converged network, we save on cabling too.)
• An optimised WiFi network throughout a building based on WiFi modelling means there is no over-scoping, reducing hardware and installation capex.
• Advanced techniques such as Personal Area Networks (PAN) ensure the best experience for residents, including access to the IoT.
• Additional services can be incorporated such as VoIP, CCTV, Security systems, door control and more.

High-capacity, reliable, secure broadband and WiFi for MDUs & PRS Broadband

Curve IT has the latest on-trend information about the IT systems which best benefit clients, actively seeking out systems that will save money and reduce carbon footprint. We help clients confidently address technology-related decisions such as speed of access and cabling, recommending enterprise grade equipment within a client’s budget to ensure a great feature set and good warranty level for equipment.

Early planning of IT infrastructure, networks and PRS Broadband before the building construction begins reduces time-consuming and expensive retrospective IT installation in the construction schedule – and prevents expensive variations in construction; we dovetail our installation into the other service installation schedules.

It also means Curve IT can adhere to and enhance demanding brand standards including:

• Security controls within the building for residents to feel safe;
• Minimum setting for the WiFi signal wherever a resident may be within the building;
• A minimum number of wired ports within an apartment in the optimum locations;
• A WiFi portal for residents that is user friendly and offers services, and further revenue opportunities;
• Home-style technology delivered to enterprise standard within an MDU which feels individual to the resident but utilised by numerous tenants;
• High speed Internet supply optimized for 5Ghz.

The post Creating an intelligent IT infrastructure for PRS Broadband appeared first on Curve IT.

With free WiFi now seen by many as a basic human right, customers often expect to find it no matter where they are or what they are doing – and nowhere is this more apparent than in the hospitality sector.

The benefits of offering free WiFi

The increasing omnipresence of WiFi means a high percentage of people out and about want internet access 24/7, with hotels, restaurants, cafes and many retail outlets now offering free WiFi to their customers. There are some obvious benefits, such as:

• An increased competitive edge
  People actively seek out places where they can access free WiFi, and are more likely to recommend venues to friends and family.
• Increased spending
  Offering free WiFi to customers in a café, restaurant or shop means they’re likely to stay longer, and spend more money.

But there are other ways WiFi can add value to a hospitality business.

WiFi marketing portal

Curve IT has developed a WiFi portal specifically for the hospitality sector which is designed to enable businesses to promote themselves, engage with their customers, and capture useful data.

To ensure we can roll this out to a wide number of businesses – both in the South East and nationwide – Curve IT has appointed Gary Bristow as head of sales.

“One of the key advantages of using Curve IT’s WiFi portal means businesses can learn more about their customers, and get something back from them,” says Gary. “Traditionally ‘free WiFi’ has been pretty unregulated, so you’ll get people coming into a coffee shop and using the WiFi for six hours and only buying one cup of coffee, and the cost of the WiFi falls on the business owner.

“WiFi is often called ‘the fourth utility’ but you wouldn’t allow a customer to go into the kitchen and run a tap for six hours,” Gary points out. “With a bespoke portal from Curve IT the owner of the business regains some control in terms of bandwidth  and data consumption- and gets something back from the customer.

“A custom portal provides opportunities for user engagement, analytics, data capture and more. That might mean social media interaction which encourages them to share where they are or ‘like’ something;customer information which enables some marketing action; or more advanced technology which can allow location tracking, footfall analysis or other data – even advertising space.”

Engage customers and control connectivity

In short a bespoke portal and internet gateway offers businesses more control over who uses their WiFi – and how.

• With a bespoke WiFi portal in place businesses are able to influence customer behaviour.
• There are many different ways of interacting with customers. (For example, a huge amount of targeted marketing can be done just through collecting a customer’s date of birth when they log in.)
• A portal and gateway benefits everyone – from two or three users in a cafe to thousands in a residential building.
• By controlling data transfer and bandwidth a more level playing field is created.
• With a Curve IT portal and gateway, every end user will have a positive experience with connectivity no matter how many others are using the WiFi.

Brighton Spiegeltent was one of the first venues to deploy Curve IT’s WiFi marketing portal during the Brighton Festival.

Bespoke technology service

Curve IT can provide bespoke internet services to suit every business – be it hotel, retail outlet, multi-dwelling unit (MDU) or small scale business.  The same service is also applicable to all types of events and venues; indoor or outdoor, temporary or permanent.

Usually the first step is an onsite visit so that the building or venue to be connected can be surveyed and information gathered about how many users will access the WiFi and what they will be using it for.

Understanding the venue is key to Curve IT ensuring the most efficient WiFi technology solution can be delivered. Curve IT works with industry leader Ruckus, whose solutions are smart, secure and scaleable, no matter how tough the environment.

“There’s a very structured approach to understanding the venue and its needs, measuring footfall and potential number of devices that might be connected,” says Gary. “Different levels of pricing are available for differing venue sizes, and we are even able to offer a ‘plug and play’ solution for smaller businesses.”

“The Curve IT team is experienced with all types of business – from small outlets to very large residential developments in the private rental sector (PRS), where it’s crucial that the IT infrastructure is able to respond to the inevitable changes in technology throughout the lifespan of the building.”

For more information about what Curve IT can offer your business, email Gary or call 01273 806220.

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