Last Year The Board Tasked An Ad-Hoc Commission Of PT Unit Owners To Meet And Consider Options For Bulk Cable And Internet Service

Ultimately they were able to negotiate a renewal with the incumbent service provider, ASTOUND Broadband, which included an agreement to replace the old ‘daisy chain’ coaxial cable network, with a ‘homerun’ fiber network. The opportunity to future-proof Park Tower units was met with almost immediate support by the Commission and Board. After several meetings and negotiation of their proposal, a contract was recommended to the Board and the Board approved the renewal with ASTOUND. The work is now underway, with the ’15 tier winding down and the ’02 and ’14 tiers on approach.

The key things to understand right off are that each units’ old cable line is shared with on average 7 to 12 other units, hence the expression ‘daisy chain’. The ‘homerun’ fiber references the fact you will not be sharing your line with anyone…each unit will have its own totally dedicated strand of fiber providing service. This gives immediate advantages, most importantly of which is bandwidth. It allows for much more powerful internet speeds and more reliable television service. And as it relates to internet service, upload speed will now match download speed. The contract takes us from 15 MBPS upload and 250 MBPS download, to 1 GIG upload and 1 GIG download. That was not possible with the ‘daisy chain’ network.

Owners and residents who’ve been here for years may wonder…didn’t AT&T put in a fiber network? Yes, in 2018.

So why aren’t we using that one? Some residents are. We had a resident visit the office this week and ask, if I already use AT&T fiber can’t ASTOUND just skip my unit? No, because the fiber backbone coming down each tier can’t just magically skip a unit.

So why aren’t we using AT&T for bulk cable and internet, and for that matter why aren’t we at least using the lines they already installed? First, we don’t have AT&T television and cable service, because they would not give Park Tower competitive bulk pricing. In fact, the last bid we got from them was more than double what owners are paying for now with ASTOUND.

And AT&T actually owns their network, so we can’t just have ASTOUND use it. AT&T was granted an easement to use PTCA property. The caveat being PTCA will own it after 15 years…approximately 9 more years. We have a similar agreement with ASTOUND. Both companies financed the materials and labor for their installs, but have agreed the Association will assume ownership after 15 years.

So why don’t we wait until we own AT&T’s network, and then use that one? We are having problems now, with capacity over the coax cable. Technology has improved its bandwidth capabilities over the years, but we were warned we were reaching a limit. With the popularity of streaming and gaming over the internet growing, it was becoming less and less likely the coax would be able to deliver dependable service. 9 years would be too long to wait.

So will the AT&T network be taken out, and if I use AT&T now will I be forced to use ASTOUND for fiber service? No…their network will remain. Despite their non-competitive bulk pricing, there are AT&T retail customers in the building and having that choice is added value to every unit whether you use it or not. So current AT&T customers will be able to continue their service, and if they want to switch to ASTOUND in the future, the capability will be there.

If I use AT&T service, do I have to continue paying the Cable/Internet charge with my assessments? Yes. The Association is obligated consistent with the Illinois Condo Act to charge the same amount to each unit for the bulk cable and internet agreement.

So may unit owners remove the AT&T fiber line and outlets? The AT&T fiber lines were installed at no charge to unit owners by AT&T. As reported at the time, if owners declined to have the line run in their unit, or if it is damaged or removed if they ever decide they want to purchase services via AT&T, then they would just have to pay for the fiber to be installed at that time.

When AT&T completed their fiber project, the Association knew there was always a possibility they would not present a proposal for bulk service that would be reasonable. That fact is, RCN (now ASTOUND) has always been far more competitive than their peers. BUT, since that time we’ve been able to say that PTCA units are fiber ready. Our recommendation is that owners leave the AT&T installation in place and simply regard its 5″x5″ termination box as a utility a future owner may appreciate having. Some studies showed at the time (and in fact still show) that fiber capable units average about $5-$6 per square foot more in value than non-fiber capable units. Having the additional capability may help as well.

If you have any questions at all, feel free to share them at parktowercondo-mgmt@habitat.com.