When it comes to managing the needs of a condominium’s owners, it can be nearly impossible to find solutions that please every owner all of the time. People take for granted the benefits of the association and consider dues a mandatory assessment. As a result, no one raves to family and friends about the amazing trash collection service their association has selected or the quality of the new vinyl siding on the building. Of course, all of these things are critical to the functionality of the condo, but no one wants to get out their checkbook for a special assessment.

While no one is ever excited to pay a bill, there are ways that owners can get more out of their association. When owners’ perspectives about dues shift from a set of “mandatory fees” to “amenity fees,” their opinion of the association may begin to change. Owners no longer see the association as purveyors of arbitrary code and rubber stamping fees if the amenities included are suited to owners’ needs and bring a sense of pride to the community as a whole.

Many associations have begun to think outside the box when it comes to which amenities to include in dues. Outside of pools and green areas, which are amenities that are used occasionally by a subset of the owners, one option to consider is upgrading the property’s entertainment and communications networks. An amenity package that includes more luxury services, such as a powerful broadband connection, may be considered an important item to owners given improvements in internet, telephone, television and other technology based services. By upgrading to a fiber-optic network, which is capable of delivering multiple services to an owner’s door, an association can bring cutting-edge services to the property as well as provide an overall cost savings to owners by including monthly service fees into dues – all without spending any upfront capital.

Unlike the copper wiring in most condos, which has many limitations, fiber-optic wiring offers virtually unlimited bandwidth within fine strands of glass. Optical electronics transmit data through each strand at the speed of light, and advances in this technology continue to push more information through the same glass fibers. As future applications drive bandwidth demands, the capacity of fiber-optic networks is readily available to accommodate them.  Fiber does not conduct electricity, so it is more reliable than coax and copper cable. This means fewer service interruptions during storms and power outages. With the growth of bandwidth-hungry technologies, the demand for fiber has risen dramatically. Demand will continue to grow for services such as more HD channels, faster Internet, more Video on Demand content and VoIP and other applications in the future, and fiber is the only way to meet that demand.

Since dues are a fact of life, many condo owners around the country enjoy the convenience of having services like telephone, television and Internet covered by their dues. By purchasing a set of services for the entire property, tremendous cost savings and performance guarantees can be realized for both the owner and the COA.  With a more powerful fiber-optic network, demand will continue to grow to more HD content, faster Internet, as well as almost any new telecommunications amenity that comes to market. In a turbulent market, finding cost effective means to add value and reduce overall monthly spending is not only a performance advantage, but also a means to increase owners’ pride in their community.

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