Data transmission needs surpass those of telephone conversations

Real Estate Weekly, Nov 24, 1999 by Rick Uhl

(This column is part of a weekly question-and-answer series on telecommunication services designed to help real estate professionals compete for and retain tenants.)

Data transmission now requires 10 times more communications capacity than phone conversations. In five years, as companies rely more on "e-business" to run their operations, data will use 25 times more Capacity than voice. As companies rely more on "e-business" to run operations, their need to transmit data - payroll transactions, Web images, engineering drawings - will rise dramatically in relation to their needs for voice service.

Tenant demand for advanced telecommunications systems to handle this shift will change the real estate market as dramatically as the invention of the elevator.

There are so many telecommunications companies trying to sell me services. How can I sort out their claims?

Asking vendors these questions may help: What technology do you use? Fiber-optic cable and wireless fiber will provide attractive benefits to your tenants. Cellular and microwave satellite technologies offer little competitive advantage to your building:

What services and flexibility can you offer my tenants? Your tenants will want to choose freely from a full range of services, including high-speed Internet connections, data transfer, Web-based information, video-conferencing and related services, such as ecommerce support.

Who are your strategic partners? Partners can support a vendor's ability to invest in technology and network development, as well as provide broad financial stability.

What space, equipment and preparation are required? Ask about roof area and phone closet requirements. Find out whether sidewalk excavation or roof penetration is required and how long the work will take.

Do you own your own transmission network? Service problems can be resolved more quickly when a company owns their cables, antennas and switching equipment. It's clear where the buck stops and there is no need to escalate response levels.

How do your services compare with others for reliability? For back-up capabilities? Services should meet the five nines standard (see below). Back-up protection requires a completely different route from the service being backed-up. Be particularly careful about shared cables near the building.

Do you require an exclusive agreement for telecom services? Non-exclusive relation-ships give your tenants the opportunity to chose the telecom carrier(s) that best suit their needs.

Term of the Week: Five Nines Reliability.

This telecommunications industry standard means that a system is 99.999 percent reliable. It has been engineered for less than 5.4 minutes of down time per year.

Rick Uhl is president and COO of Winstar for Buildings.