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best suited to connect our buildings systems, support our IoT requirements, and deliver unique and differentiating services to our customers. The decision to select PON technology as our foundational digital infrastructure was made based on several strategic drivers:
Cost: We have a duty to our clients to ensure we deploy high-quality and cost-effective solutions into our buildings. The capital costs to deploy the PON solution were over 65% less than traditional networks, and the ongoing service costs were between 50-70% lower, depending on the building.
Energy: QuadReal is committed to sustainability, the reduction of energy usage and shrinking our carbon footprint across our portfolio. As the PON solution is based on “passive” equipment splitting light signals (no moving parts, un-powered splitters) we calculated an energy savings on the total solution of over 70% versus traditional networks.
Space: Real estate always comes at a premium, and we are dedicated to maximizing leasable space within our buildings. The PON solution led to an approximate 65% space savings versus traditional networks.
Security & Risk: Ensuring the highest level of security and the overall mitigation of risk is a major priority at QuadReal. With early adopters of the PON solution being the U.S. federal government and Department of Defense, the technology is proven, highly secure, and trusted in mission-critical environments.
Scalability: Nothing in the known universe moves faster than light, which means the data-carrying capacity of fiber is multiple times that of copper. Simply by changing the wavelengths of light, the data transmitted can
be increased several-fold—critical to supporting next generation technologies such as 5G.
Lifespan: Operationally, it is our goal to ensure we maximize the useful life of all infrastructure deployed in our buildings. Certain components of the PON solution have a lifespan than can exceed 25 years, ensuring a digital foundation that will support our buildings for years to come.
Less than a year and a half after the commencement of our national roll-out, over 40 commercial office buildings within the QuadReal portfolio were outfitted with the PON technology. We’ve developed global building connectivity
standards, which is leading to consistency with every system retrofit we do and every new building we construct. We’re already seeing the benefits of the program—as we can now secure and leverage insights into devices across the portfolio (some we didn’t even know existed) and use the digital infrastructure as the foundation of our data and system integration strategies. This is paving the way for analytics, AI & ML that will transform the way we operate our properties and serve our customers.
At each of these buildings, all major systems were connected including HVAC, lighting controls, metering, security, elevators, Wi-Fi and more. In addition, the PON infrastructure supported our low-power wide area network (LP-WAN) IoT strategy, as we deployed sensing devices throughout the buildings (a program which is rapidly expanding) to drive use cases on real-time occupancy data, indoor air quality information, leak detection, smart bathrooms and waste data. (Read more about QuadReal’s LP-WAN strategy, and how it’s a transformational step
in the pursuit of pervasive IoT in real estate, in a recently published article in the RFID Journal.)
The ability to connect and centrally manage devices has hyper-accelerated the deployment of our strategic smart building use cases to drive high-value outcomes including:
• Operational efficiency
• Differentiated and unique user experiences
• Health and safety of all occupants in light of the COVID-19 pandemic
The time for the commercial real estate industry
to demonstrate leadership in the adoption and implementation of technology to address business challenges has never been more appropriate—and it all starts with a solid foundation.
Thano Lambrinos has over 15 years of experience in the construction and building technologies space, and leverages digital transformation learnings across vertical markets to drive innovation and
change in commercial real estate. As Senior Vice President, he leads the Digital Buildings,
Customer Experience & Innovation teams at QuadReal, and is focused on the development and execution of the digital strategy across a global real estate portfolio.
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