HOUSTON – Nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of students would consider relocating if Internet speeds in their apartment didn’t meet expectations. This finding, from a survey by J Turner Research, confirms that access to fast Internet speeds is no longer an amenity in student housing – it is now an expectation. And it’s not hard to understand why – 56 percent of students said they spend between three and five hours a day on the Internet, and another 16 percent said they spend five to six hours a day online.
A majority (53 percent) of the 10,000 student respondents said the Internet connections in their apartments were slower than at their college or university; however, their satisfaction levels with Internet speeds remain high, with 43 percent of respondents ranking their satisfaction at a 7 or above, based on a scale of 0-10.
“This survey … is the first indicator of the connectivity services the multifamily industry will need to deliver as these bandwidth-hungry residents transition into the larger rental pool in the years ahead,” says Joseph Batdorf, president of J Turner Research. “The fact students ranked cell phone reception and speed of Internet access as two of the top three amenities they seek in an apartment, after a large bedroom, underscores the importance this younger generation places on connectivity.”
Wireless and Bandwidth Multitasking
The widespread use of wireless devices such as cell phones, iPads and laptops has driven the use of wireless Internet connections in apartment communities. According to respondents, 61 percent of students connect to the Internet wirelessly, and the connection is accessed by multiple devices. Sixteen percent of students said they have three devices connected to the Internet at any given time, and another 25 percent have three or more devices accessing their wireless connections.
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