My brother's new high rise apartment doesn't allow individual internet services

https://www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinfuriating/s/mQRDnpsNvs

Comments

joshstrangeSep 27, 2026, 12:00 PM
The last apartment I lived in (2019) was in the process of switching to building-run Internet, forcing us to give up our individual cable modems for the building WiFi. They had something like a limit of 15 devices you were allowed to connect and no Ethernet/wired, it was WiFi only.

When I talked to them about it they seemed completely befuddled as to why someone might need more than 15 WiFi connections or why someone would need a wired connection.

Thankfully I was moving out and just slow-rolled giving up my equipment until I left.

nijaveSep 26, 2026, 8:40 PM
Rev sharing agreements can be quite lucrative for the building owner.

Here's an old example https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/432/topics/554933-cable...

spottedmarleySep 26, 2026, 8:45 PM
Get a mobile hotspot. I've been using one (Verizon) practically as my only internet provider for a while now. 5G up and down speeds are totally acceptable for everything I do. And there's nothing an apartment complex can do about it. You can also share your phone's internet with other devices. Obviously the real answer is to not live there! But if you must, it's not an internet death sentence.
nxobjectSep 27, 2026, 2:42 AM
I agree – the introduction of 5G base stations is absolutely crushing cable monopolies. It's beautiful to see. I remember the day I called Comcast to say "goodbye, I'm switching, and no I don't want to bundle a phone plan with my unreliable cable connection."
linuxkernalSep 26, 2026, 9:59 PM
[dead]
stevenicrSep 27, 2026, 8:50 PM
relative's apartment / townhome complex in Nashville did similar about a year ago. They had to stop paying comcast direct and instead pay comcast through the complex.

This caused many days of customer support issues with their owned / not rented cable modem, and then very interesting discussions about the now separated cell phone bill and previously subsidized cell phones.

I think it took 2 months to sort those things out.

For at least 2 months they had to pay both the complex and comcast for cable in order to keep the cell phones from being disconnected.

Do not feel like it was a win for the tenants.

plucSep 26, 2026, 7:37 PM
Amazingly, those are advertised as "included amenities", as if they were a good thing. I'm sure a large number of people are fine with the idea of a managed internet - or they just don't understand.
sfpkSep 26, 2026, 8:27 PM
They often make you pay for Cable TV as well as part of the managed amenities, whether you want it or not.
WowfunhappySep 26, 2026, 10:02 PM
Do they block individual wired connections too, or only Wi-Fi?

Asking residents to refrain from setting up their own wireless access points actually seems like it could be reasonable? It might lead to less congestion and better performance for everyone.

I'm reminded of my college dorm. Every room had an ethernet jack, and there was a communal Wi-Fi network, but students were asked to not create their own Wi-Fi hotspots.

fragmedeSep 26, 2026, 11:16 PM
Yes because inevitably a student would plug their Ethernet jack into the LAN ports and start serving bad DHCP to the rest of the dorm.
WowfunhappySep 27, 2026, 12:03 AM
I really think they were just concerned about Wi-Fi congestion.
xhkkffbfSep 26, 2026, 10:42 PM
This is even a problem in neighborhoods where the townhouses are pretty close to each other. I was in one and there were fifty hot spots that were visible.
4d4mSep 26, 2026, 10:33 PM
Starlink or 5g att/tmobile are a likely option
nijaveSep 26, 2026, 11:29 PM
A lot of apartments specifically forbid outdoor radio equipment outside which might make Starlink difficult. 5G should be fine
gucci-on-fleekSep 27, 2026, 11:59 AM
Those rules are usually void [0]. There are quite a few caveats, but if you have a private balcony, you can generally put up whatever antennae you want, regardless of what the apartment rules say.

[0]: https://www.fcc.gov/media/over-air-reception-devices-rule

4d4mSep 26, 2026, 11:54 PM
Very true! Ah sorry meant to clarify this is on the inside windows, with some expected performance degradation.
contingenciesSep 27, 2026, 1:03 AM
Had this in China years ago. The solution was we dressed up a worker from my fiber optic provider in a borrowed cable provider uniform to haul the cable. It took months to arrange, but I was pretty amused when it worked!
hurricanepootisSep 26, 2026, 9:25 PM
Honestly, what's stopping a high rise building from doing an internal GPON/XGS-PON distribution to all the buildings inside?