CLIENT
STORIES
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INVESTMENT LEADS
TO SUCCESS
Liberty Living, a student accommodation provider housing
19,000 students, recently invested over £1million in their WiFi
networks. The result? Satisfied students and a National Student
Housing Survey award for Best Student Broadband.
THE CLIENT
Liberty Living have operated in the UK student accommodation sector for 16
years and can be found in 18 cities. They are well aware of what it takes to meet
the demands of today’s student.
“Student expectations have increased in line with the number of Internet
connected devices they own. Arriving at their accommodation with
tablets, smart phones, iPods, Kindles, Raspberry Pi’s and games consoles,
students are looking for better WiFi provision than they get at home.”
GRANT ROBERTSON, LIBERTY LIVING, HEAD OF IT
THE GOAL
Partnering with ASK4, Liberty Living moved ahead with considerable work to
their infrastructure over a five-month period. The goal was to deliver a fast,
reliable Wi-Fi service that enabled students to operate Wi-Fi only (and wired)
devices without interruption from any part of the building.
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THE SOLUTION
ASK4 undertook careful capacity planning and design
for each accommodation building, and carried out the
installation of nearly 3000 cable runs and 3000 access
points across 46 sites. This included the use of ‘Best in
Class’ Ruckus Access Points, and highly sophisticated
software to map building layout and composition to
engineer out channel interference.
THE RESULTS
Following a National Student Housing Survey* award win,
John Kenny applauded ASK4:
“Winning the award for Best Student Broadband
speaks volumes for our work with ASK4. It tells us
we are getting our Internet strategy and choice of
networking partner right. It also gives us confidence
for the future, knowing that we can expand
operationally and commercially without worrying
about any extra demand on the network.”
*The National Student Housing Survey (NSHS) is an
independent annual survey of students focusing on
their experience in both University and Private Sector
Accommodation. The 2015 survey attracted almost 20,000
responses from more than 120 universities in the UK.
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BROADBAND THAT
CROSSES BORDERS
When The Student Housing Company sought
an Internet service provider for their residence
in Madrid they carried out exhaustive supplier
research in Spain. But none could fully appreciate
the idiosyncrasies of their student market quite
like their UK provider - ASK4.
THE CLIENT
The Student Housing Company manages purpose-built
student accommodation in the UK and Europe, with sites
from London to Edinburgh, Southampton and Liverpool. For
their first Spanish site, Galdós Madrid, The Student Housing
Company looked to ASK4 to deliver a service that would meet
student demands for speed and reliability.
As Director General for The Student Housing Company in
Spain, Christopher Holloway, noted: “You cannot simply tell a
student they will be late handing in work because the WiFi is
not working. As our incumbent supplier in the UK, ASK4 were
the clear leader when it came to understanding our students’
needs and expectations.”
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THE SERVICE
ASK4 worked alongside The Student Housing Company technical team to
design and re-fit a site specific network for Galdós Madrid, delivering on-time,
on-budget and even sponsoring the residence football team shirts.
“At Galdós we have gone from an unmanaged, ramshackle system, to
a fully managed service that has built in redundancy and, therefore,
reliability.”
CHRISTOPHER HOLLOWAY, DIRECTOR GENERAL FOR SPAIN, THE STUDENT HOUSING COMPANY
THE PARTNERSHIP
The European partnership continues as The Student Housing Company work on
numerous Spanish developments with input from ASK4 before the first bricks
are laid. Commenting on the partnership, Christopher Holloway explained:
“The ASK4 experience goes beyond the mere provision of Internet. It is
the level service, customer care and the willingness to collaborate that
makes them really standout. While most suppliers fight it out on cost,
ASK4 go further, focussing on value, the student experience and future
improvements.”
Recently named one of the coolest places to live in the world by Uniplaces,
Galdós Madrid is providing its 370 students with a broadband service to match
its world class status.
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STAYING CONNECTED
WITH STAYTOO
As the purpose-built student accommodation sector continues
to develop at pace across Europe, new-to-the-market German
provider Staytoo needed an experienced and reliable Internet
partner to deliver the very best connectivity services.
THE CLIENT
MPC Capital is developing 6 student
accommodation properties in
Germany as part of their new brand
- Staytoo. The properties will contain
more than 1,000 modern, furnished
apartments across 5 cities. Two of
these properties will open for the
Winter semester of 2016/17 in
Nuremberg (185 apartments) and
Bonn (163 apartments). A fellow Class
of 2020 partner, Staytoo is committed
to raising industry standards.
“Staytoo is part of an international
community dedicated to achieving
higher standards on all fronts
within student accommodation.
Creating more efficient buildings,
and raising the standard of
furnishings and community
areas, is our vision for modern
micro-living for students, young
professionals and commuters.”
MARCO LOTICHIUS, HEAD OF MARKETING AND
BRAND MANAGEMENT, MPC CAPITAL
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THE SERVICE
THE PARTNERSHIP
ASK4 has been involved since the early stages
of construction at Staytoo’s new sites, advising
on the most appropriate infrastructure and
service packages to deliver the type of high
speed, robust Internet experience that students
demand. As Marco Lotichius noted:
With an increasing number of national and
international students in Germany and growing
competition for small apartments from students
and young professionals, finding appropriate
accommodation can be even more difficult than
finding the right university. With further Staytoo
properties scheduled to open in 2017/18 in
Kaiserslautern, Leipzig and Berlin, effective
working relationships with key partners are
crucial.
“We need to offer super-fast Internet
connectivity everywhere in our properties
so students can hang out and watch movies
on demand, or stream music without any
problems. To achieve this, a fast and reliable
Internet connection is not a fancy add-on, it
is a compelling necessity.”
“As the provision of technical services
tends to be quite abstract and impersonal,
personal interaction becomes even more
important. We have experienced ASK4 as
professional team players, with a service and
products to match the needs of students’
modern lifestyles.”
MARCO LOTICHIUS, HEAD OF MARKETING AND BRAND
MANAGEMENT, MPC CAPITAL
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A COMPETITIVE
EDUCATION
As a world class institution, Queen’s University
Belfast required an Internet Service Provider who
would give them a competitive edge in their bid
to attract the highest calibre undergraduates,
postgraduates and overseas students.
THE CLIENT
Listed in the top 1% of global universities, Queen’s is
home to more than 23,000 students, with over 2,200 beds
in university operated accommodation. In 2012, Queen’s
partnered with ASK4 for the delivery of broadband services
in their student accommodation – a service required to
match student’s expectations for speed, WiFi provision and
dedicated support.
“Internet access, and in particular WiFi, is
regarded as a utility by students when considering
accommodation options. It is now a vital part of
students’ lives - both academically and socially.
Reliable WiFi is taken for granted.”
MIKE UPRICHARD, ASSISTANT HEAD OF ACCOMMODATION, QUEEN’S
UNIVERSITY BELFAST
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THE SERVICE
THE PARTNERSHIP
ASK4 worked with Queen’s to deliver
considerable improvements to the
existing wired network to improve
speed, and installed a robust WiFi
service fit to withstand high density
usage. The complete service was then
fully managed by ASK4, with 24/7/365
helpdesk support.
Queen’s is now actively exploring
options for creating a further 1,500
student beds in the next 3 years and,
through continued partnership with
ASK4, the provision of an industry
leading Internet solution.
Reflecting on the work completed, Mike
Uprichard commented:
“To begin with we had a job to
communicate to students that the
University was not their ISP, but Ask4
worked hard to make it clear that
support queries should be directed
to them. The provision of a roadmap
was also key as this allowed us to
market the annual speed upgrade in our survey feedback, the current
base speed is satisfying demand.”
“ASK4’s professionalism, knowledge
of the UK Higher Education Sector
and expertise in technological
advances is extremely beneficial for
our future planning. We expect our
partnership to continue to support
our development of world class
student accommodation.”
MIKE UPRICHARD, ASSISTANT HEAD OF
ACCOMMODATION, QUEEN’S UNIVERSITY
BELFAST
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MODERN SERVICES FOR
A HISTORIC BUILDING
Developing a listed building involves many challenges, not
least the provision of site-wide, super-fast WiFi. At John Bell
House in Belfast, Fresh Student Living and Curlew Student Trust
partnered with ASK4 to deliver first class infrastructure in a first
class setting.
THE BUILDING
An iconic Grade 2 listed building on College Square East, John Bell House, is
currently being transformed to offer Belfast students unique accommodation
from September 2016. The building will provide a mixture of en-suite shared
apartments and studios for those studying at Queen’s University and the
University of Ulster. There will also be a number of impressive social spaces,
including the former Grand Hall, and a quiet study space in the oak panelled
drawing room.
The accommodation will be marketed and managed by Fresh Student Living
on behalf of the building owners, Curlew Student Trust. John Bell House will
provide 423 students with 100 Mbps broadband as standard.
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THE CHALLENGES
THE PARTNERSHIP
Installing WiFi into a listed building entails
certain complexities. For example, the building’s
wall construction ranges from brick (in places 1m
thick) to modern metal frames and plasterboard.
Wall construction and thickness both affect
radio signal strength, with thicker denser walls
(and floors) resulting in a weaker WiFi signal.
The buildings listed original features also pose
challenges, particularly in communal spaces,
meaning options for the positioning of WiFi
access points are reduced.
ASK4 has partnered with Fresh Student Living
since their beginning in 2010. From September
2016 Fresh will be managing over 12,600 beds
in 26 university town / city locations across
the UK. The partnership will continue as we
work closely to ensure that the broadband and
WiFi offering is consistent with the exceptional
service they seek to provide.
THE SOLUTION
Early engagement on the project allowed ASK4
to plan and design the right WiFi solution for
the building and its occupants. Without having
to wait on building construction, the engineers
could gain early access for onsite testing to
assess the WiFi attenuation throughout and
place WiFi access points in strategic positions.
Jane Crouch, Director of Operations at Fresh
Student Living commented;
“We are pleased to be working with ASK4
on this project as they are able to provide a
broadband solution that offers the service
we expect for our students at a competitive
price. Having worked with ASK4 for the past
6 years we are confident in their ability to
deliver on time. With the anticipated growth
that Fresh Student Living has planned over
the coming years it is important to work
with partners who are able to match our
forward thinking and demand for increasing
standards to meet our customer needs.”
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EXPERT SERVICE
PROVISION FOR
THE PRIVATE
RENTED SECTOR
As home ownership in the UK becomes less
affordable, the demand for high quality, fully
serviced rental accommodation continues
to rise. As the team at City Estates know,
technology has a central part to play in PRS
developments for tech native 23-34 year olds.
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THE CLIENT
THE SERVICE
THE PARTNERSHIP
City Estates develop and manage multi
tenant buildings in prime locations across the
UK. They have partnered with ASK4 for many
years. As City Estates Managing Director, Dale
Fixter, explains:
From instant access WiFi, to a robust network
to support the host of smart devices these
buildings are increasingly filled with, having a
market leading ISP to deliver what customers
expect is vital. This is particularly true in
a market where competition and tenant
expectations grow year-on-year.
Whether 23-34 year olds want to rent or
have to rent may be a bigger socio-economic
question, but the fact remains that they
need somewhere ‘to’ rent. With growth in the
private rented sector an inevitability, a focus
on quality – design and infrastructure – is key.
As Dale Fixter noted:
“Internet connectivity has become
increasingly important for tenants and
our ability to provide a quality service is
essential. Without it our reputation for
quality would doubtless slip. With ASK4
at our West One development, we are
able to provide an immediate Internet
connection in all 540 apartments. A must
for prospective tenants.”
“Our partnership with ASK4 has enabled
us to keep pace with changes in the market
and to deliver on tenants’ expectations.
With high speeds and 24/7 support, we can
be confident we are delivering the type of
broadband service tenants expect from the
premium property market.”
“ASK4 MD Jonathan Burrows approached
us when the notion of broadband was very
still much in its infancy. We knew Jonathan
and we were impressed by the proposition
and the commitment to carry out a
significant installation in a sizeable scheme
with the right quality and profile. We have
been working with ASK4 ever since.”
DALE FIXTER, MANAGING DIRECTOR,
CITY ESTATES
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