Bridgefield has become Ireland’s first-ever residential building to achieve a WiredScore certification. WiredScore is the internationally recognised real estate rating scheme for digital connectivity, and the award reflects Bridgefield’s quality internet and technology infrastructure.
The importance of high-quality digital infrastructure has been reinforced in recent weeks by the requirement for many people to work at home due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Bridgefield residents benefit from access to highspeed broadband provided by Virgin Media of up to 500MB in their apartments, a 400MB WiFi connection throughout the building, and a dedicated resident app that allows residents to book anything from laundry to a personal trainer.
In its rating report, WiredScore flagged the following attributes at Bridgefield:
- WiFi: good WiFi coverage throughout the apartments and in all communal areas. With the rise of working from home, gaming and streaming, this is essential for a seamless digital experience
- Security: security controls on the WiFi network to ensure residents can go online without compromising their privacy
- Future-proofed: Bridgefield’s internet infrastructure has the capacity for additional future equipment, which means that the development has built-in resilience to the inevitable future changes in technology
- Instant connectivity: there is a process that facilitates new residents to engage with broadband provider Virgin Media before they move in, to ensure their connection is in place when they start living in their new home
Research conducted by WiredScore shows that 92% of Irish homeowners and renters struggle with poor residential connectivity, and that a third of those surveyed would not have moved into their current home if that had been aware of the internet issues*. The research also found that homeowners and renters are paying an extra €78 for mobile data due to the poor fixed-line internet service in their home.
Commenting on the award, John Vaudin, Managing Director of Round Hill Capital Ireland, said:
“As a forward-thinking landlord, we recognise the importance of providing residents with high quality and reliable digital infrastructure in our developments. The WiredScore certification is an important third-party verification that our buildings deliver on what we promise, and we believe we are setting a new standard for what residents will expect from top quality apartment developments.
Working from home has been a growing trend, but the recent coronavirus outbreak means many more people than usual are using their home as their office. The robust digital connectivity we have in place at Bridgefield means residents can be confident that they can conduct their business, without worrying about speed or capacity of their broadband connection.”
Henry Pethybridge, Director from WiredScore said:
“We congratulate Round Hill as the owner and manager of the first residential development in Ireland to achieve WiredScore certification. It’s vital that landlords can communicate to their residents the quality and reliability of their technology infrastructure, and WiredScore provides a credible means of doing that. The use of technology is only going in one direction. Therefore, it is also important that Bridgefield has been designed in a way that future equipment can be installed as necessary, thereby ensuring the building always delivers a best in class service to tenants.”