Internet Initiatives

In the June 2021 Junta, it was explained why having full community internet is not feasible and would not be cost-effective. We have 2 ideas for thinking "out of the box" as it must be possible to get some scale economies for our 250+ user community.

(1) Bulk Discount Negotiation

Contact Avatel, Olivenet and other companies to make a special offer for cabling and connecting our community, with a bulk discount depending on how many owners sign up.

(2) Modular approach

Facilitate taking one router per floor of the building and distribute with access points. I have done this sucessfully for 4 apartments, it works perfectly, and so the 4 apartments share 1 movistar 1 giga subscription. Read on to see what I have done. I can help explain to groups of neighbors if you would like to do this on your floor or in your bloque.

An alternative to full community provided internet could be, creating small groups of 3-5 neighbors who share a fiber-optic router and Movistar 1 giga connection. It is possible with an investment of 700 per group, to set up a router - access point network like in an office or a hotel. This means 250 per apartment if 4 apartments go together. After the setup, they can all share ONE movistar subscription instead of 4! The installation will quickly pay for itself. I have set up this system for my 4 apartments and it works perfectly. I purchased a UBIQUITI Dream Machine server and 4 individual access points from DISA TV in Contur Elviria shopping center. If other neighbors are interested in this approach we could try to get a BULK DISCOUNT for a large number of installations. The installation requires:

1. Get ONE movistar or similar subscription with 1 giga speed for your floor or group of 4 -5 adjacent apartments.

2. Pull cables from all the apartments thru the walls of the hallway and enlarge the existing cable-box in the hallway to receive the router and switch.

3. Designate one apartment to house the Dream Machine or put it in a trastero or other solution depending on the hallway situation

4. Designate one owner as the main subscriber who will take the Movistar subscription and be responsible for maintenance (for me: no maintenance required, maybe once a year reset)

5. The UNIFI system provides everyone with a view and control on their access point. Confidentiality is ensured, users do not share access to the router. Each access point has a password and code and can be managed completely separately. Each access point has a designated speed for example 200 or 250 giga, one user can't overload the system for the other apartments.

Advantages of this solution:

1. Modular approach, does not require community vote or gouvernance approval

2. Flexible, reliable, immediately divides the internet bill by 4 or by 5

3. Provides security and confidentiality for users of each access point

4. Local supplier located in shopping center 400 meters from our community

Disadvantages of this solution:

1. Requires investment +-700 euros

2. Requires electrician cabling and installation

3. Requires one person to take care of the Movistar subscription, provide maintenance, and recover the extra fees from the neighbours.

4. Requires good communication and collaboration among direct neighbours