MDU WiFi & Internet Solution on an enterprise scale with Slice.

Multi dwelling units (MDU), also known as MDUs, typically provide housing for hundreds of tenants on a semi-temporary basis. Whether it’s student housing, apartment buildings or condominiums, one necessity is consistent throughout – reliable internet. Oftentimes, you have tenants who are planning to sublet their unit for periods of less than 12 months. Such a short residency frequently fails to justify purchasing contracted service from an ISP, however, the need for internet and WiFi still exists. The responsibility of providing internet to tenants often falls upon the MDU. Without the proper equipment and personnel, such an endeavor can seem too pricey to justify implementation. Even with the proper equipment, employing a full-time operator might not make sense financially.

Slice is the solution to multi dwelling unit WiFi. Slice empowers the MDU to act as a layer between the ISP and the end users. Slice requires zero operator intervention after initial setup and supports thousands of active connections via one software based solution. Slice can be set up to deliver Freemium service to directly correlate with the various needs of the tenants. One popular use of Freemium in an MDU environment is to allow unlimited free access with a speed cap of 1mbps/500kbps and charging a premium for access at higher speeds. Users who select the unlimited free internet will be able to browse most websites, participate on social media websites and send and receive email. Users who choose to stream movies, take part in online gaming and video conference will have to pay a nominal fee. The overall consensus in Freemium deployments is satisfaction, as users appreciate the free internet and understand that advanced use will require a small payment.

One of the unique capabilities of Slice for MDUs is the ability to offer personal VLANs to all end users. Having separate VLANs for each tenant provides unmatched flexibility, functionality and security. By enabling individual VLANs, tenants can allow communication amongst their own devices while disabling the ability for unauthorized access. Personal VLANs create a truly wireless environment by enabling some of the following capabilities for tenants:

• Wireless printing
• Homegroup creation
• Inter-device communication

Enabling individual personal VLANs in environments with hundreds of users is simply unheard of, as the amount of equipment required sends costs through the roof. Slice delivers personal VLAN capability as part of its standard offering. Additional Slice benefits for multi dwelling unit WiFi and internet include:

• Uplink aggregation to be able to select the ideal bandwidth provider.
• Uplink allocation to assign specific uplinks for specific purposes.
• Bandwidth allocation and load balancing to ensure even distribution of bandwidth per user.  
• Branded portal to allow for account creation and delivery of personal VLANs.
• Tiered policies allow different internet experiences for different levels of users.
• Web history reporting allows transparency into end user browsing history.
• Proactive security ensures wrong-doing such as pirating, phishing , hacking, spamming and more is not committed by users on the network
• Ability to work with multiple radio providers means the cost of implementation can be significantly reduced.