At Meridian Parkside, a well-established 308-unit garden style community in Newport News, the ownership team faced a challenge familiar to many operators of stabilized assets: how to bring next-generation internet service to residents without launching a disruptive, high-cost infrastructure overhaul.

Enter Internet Subway.

By leveraging Meridian Parkside’s existing infrastructure—including conduit, backbone fiber, and in-building risers, Internet Subway was able to deploy fiber-to-the-unit (FTTU) and launch Next Generation Managed Wi-Fi with multigigabit speeds for a fraction of the cost of a ground-up rebuild.

Smart Design. Big Results.

Rather than tearing into walls or launching costly rewiring campaigns, the Internet Subway deployment team applied a hybrid strategy using:

• Existing backbone fiber between buildings
• Existing microduct and new drop fiber to each unit
• 10 Gbps capable wireless gateways installed inside the unit, secondary Wi-Fi devices in larger units
• Ubiquitous resident managed Wi-Fi experience delivered

This approach preserved the property’s aesthetics and minimized disruption—all while delivering a modern, scalable infrastructure ready for 2.5, 5, and even 8 Gbps upgrade tiers.

Resident Experience Transformed

Before the upgrade, Meridian Parkside residents faced traditional service activation delays, password resets, and missing equipment.

With Internet Subway’s Next Gen Managed Wi-Fi model:

• Residents walk into activated service on day one—no phone calls or appointments needed
• Each unit enjoys dedicated fiber-fed connectivity and latest generation Wi-Fi
• Base speed tier scales up over time, ensuring long-term value
• The resident portal allows instant speed upgrades, service management, and support

NOI & Asset Value Uplift

In a Next Generation Managed Wi-Fi model, Internet Subway charges the property $30/unit/month for 1 Gbps base service, while residents will see an $85/month service fee on their rent package, generating $55/unit/month in NOI.

• Annual NOI uplift per unit: $660
• Cap rate (5.5%) valuation increase per unit: $12,000
• CapEx (FTTU retrofit + XGS-PON gear, latest Wi-Fi gear in unit unit): ~$600/unit
• Net Value Creation: $11,400/unit

Multiplied across 3o8 units, that’s over $3.5 million in asset value unlocked through strategic infrastructure reuse and the introduction of high-performance Managed Wi-Fi.

Future-Proofed. Resident-Ready.

At Meridian Parkside, Internet Subway proved that you don’t need to start from scratch to deliver future-ready connectivity. With smart reuse of existing infrastructure, strategic fiber drops, and a commitment to seamless resident onboarding, this retrofit delivered outsized returns—for residents, operators, and owners alike.

Multigigabit, margin-rich, and move-in ready. That’s the Internet Subway difference. Connect with Internet Subway to learn how we might be able to use your existing infrastructure!