High-Speed Internet Draws Many Renters

Hot New Amenity Is Free or Discounted

Sarah Michaud's ears perked up during an apartment tour in Arlington last winter. Free high-speed Internet access? She had never seen that amenity advertised -- in fact, she'd never heard of it before. But it was true: The Metropolitan at Pentagon Row, a one-year-old building, includes broadband Internet connections in all units as part of the rent. Fast Internet access was one of the deciding factors in her signing a lease, with her boyfriend, for an $1,880-a month one-bedroom apartment. "It justified the price," said Michaud, 29, director of print and online communications at Georgetown University's Lombardi Cancer Center. "It's worth it to get [online] for free and when it's high speed."

Internet access is the latest hot amenity, around Washington and the country. Some buildings, like Michaud's, wire the access in and don't charge extra. Some buildings buy Internet services at a bulk rate or install scattered WiFi "hot spots," then offer them to residents, usually at a discount. Other properties simply market certain providers' services. A smaller number offer building-wide WiFi access for a fee.

"It's no longer being done to be better than the other guy, but to keep up with the other guy," said David Cardwell, vice president of capital markets and technology at the National Multi Housing Council.

When naval officer David Fry, 27, returned to his unit in the Metropolitan at Pentagon Row after a tour of duty in Iraq, he was a little disappointed. He had signed a contract with cable Internet provider Comcast before he left -- and returned to find that the building had begun offering Verizon's DSL access for free.

Fry said Verizon DSL worked well for him in Seattle a couple of years ago. "It was a little slower than [cable] broadband but pretty reliable," he said when he learned of the offer. "If it's free, then I [will] switch."

The Metropolitan at Pentagon Row and the Metropolitan of Fairfax, both owned by KSI developers, are the first KSI properties built pre-wired. (At the Fairfax property, residents who subscribe pay a discounted rate.)

KSI buys bulk DSL service on behalf of its residents from Verizon Avenue -- the division of Verizon that handles multifamily buildings.

"We have more apartments contracted in the mid-Atlantic region than any other region," Verizon Avenue business development director Dan O'Connell said. He said the company estimates its partnerships in the District and its Maryland and Virginia suburbs have a potential customer base of more than 100,000 units.

Over the next 10 years, KSI expects to build 4,000 apartment units in the Washington area, including eight high-rises in Pentagon City -- all with discount Internet service, said Karen Kossow, assistant vice president of sales and marketing.

She said the arrangement makes the property more profitable. "It helps keep the buildings occupied. Ultimately, if your occupancies are high, you're going to be able to raise your rents," Kossow said, adding, "We pass the savings on to our customers. "

Southern Management Corp., based in Vienna, is taking a different networking route: It provides its own Internet service and offers it free to residents of its high-end properties. These include the Atrium and Standard buildings in Baltimore and the Palisades in Bethesda.

"The savings of provisioning free bulk Internet services in-house is tremendous as compared to offering bulk Internet through third-party providers. Lower costs can be extended to the resident," said Ronnie Frank, SMC's director of business management.