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Ubiquity’s making a play for MDU brownfield communities with a winning strategy, according to Chris Curtin of Ubiquity Smart Buildings.

By: Brad Randall, Broadband Communities

Chris Curtin, Ubiquity’s VP of MDU national strategy, says Ubiquity Smart Buildings is making a big play for MDU brownfield communities that have been passed over by other providers.

By partnering with ISPs that possess their own fiber backhaul, Curtin said Ubiquity is able to put together an economic profile that benefits multiple parties, including MDU owners/operators, and their ISP partners.

“By partnering with these ISPs we’re able to put together an economic profile,” Curtin said.

As a result, Curtin said Ubiquity’s ISP partners are able to grow, MDU owners get fiber, and Ubiquity benefits as well. Additionally, Curtin said Ubiquity is able to keep the cost of fiber-to-the-unit below $900.

Click here to listen to the full interview with Curtin on Spotify

He said Ubiquity has signed 250 contracts (representing 33,000 units) within the last year and half, all with owners that trusted Ubiquity’s brand.

For all of them, Curtin said Ubiquity didn’t ask for a contribution or a subsidy to build out fiber-to-the-unit.

“We’re not asking for any contribution monetarily for this capital upgrade at that property,” Curtin stated.

Curtin called it a compelling offer if you’re an MDU owner, even more so when nearby greenfields are popping up.

“We’re fortunate to have relationships with large third parties that bring these clients to us,” he said.

MDU owners who are also concerned about where they’ll be in the future often end up signing with Ubiquity, Curtin added.

“They’re trying to understand, ‘where am I going to be in 5 to 10 years,'” he said. “We’re a solution to that opportunity.”

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