A new Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) survey has confirmed what should be a no-brainer for any building owner that wants to attract more tenants: The availability of broadband services and access will make their property a more desirable location to locate a business.
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Click here for details from Comcast's commercial properties survey. |
In its 2011 State of Communications Services in Commercial Real Estate Survey, the cable MSO, which is expanding its presence to larger mid-sized businesses, polled about 500 US. property managers and building owners that are members of the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA).
These members represented a wide swath of business sites, including high rise commercial office buildings, suburban office parks, healthcare facilities, government buildings, and schools.
One finding that came out of the responses was that properties offering access to communications services like Ethernet were more desirable than those having an on-site gym or a cafeteria.
"Access to advanced communications for tenants is a key factor when selecting a space for their business," said Linda Warda, property manager at Farbman Group, a company that manages more than 20 million square feet of office, retail, multi-family and industrial space throughout Southeast Michigan. "When we equipped our buildings with advanced communications, it generated a lot of excitement among our tenants."
Of property managers polled, 90 percent said that the presence of telecom services ranked as top of the list following price, parking and location. Over one third of these same participants continued to hear more questions about what service provider's services are available by 75 percent of prospective clients during the negotiation process.
With this information in hand, a growing number of BOMA members said they are equipping their building's infrastructure to support various communications providers, including cable MSOs like Comcast, to attract not only attract new tenants, but also retain existing ones whose business needs are changing.
For more:
- see the release
Special report: Comcast's Bill Stemper leads journey into the enterprise market
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