More bandwidth solves everything … right? The industry has repeated this same advice for years: “Max out capacity, because tomorrow’s applications will always demand it.”
In hospitality, for example, this typically meant running fiber to every guestroom. Pushing 10G to every IDF. Overbuilding every telecommunications closet.
As technology evolves, however, that guidance doesn’t hold up. Instead of “futureproofing” front-of-house and back-of-house services, you end up paying for infrastructure you don’t need today (and won’t use tomorrow).
Rather than maxing out bandwidth everywhere, the smarter move is to right-size network infrastructure to support the applications you count on day to day.
The road that led to overbuilt hotel network design
For decades, bandwidth requirements were increasing faster than what most networking infrastructure could support. Call it a form of industry inertia: Applications became more data-intensive, video resolution was climbing and guest expectations were rising. To keep up, it was perceived as less risky to install capacity that might not be needed rather than fall short and face expensive retrofits later.
That mindset influenced how networks were built, and Ethernet is a clear example. Ethernet speeds kept rising from 100 Mb/s to 1G to 10G to 40G and beyond, and it happened without stopping to determine whether every device would need speeds that fast.
As Ethernet speeds went up, wireless design was evolving.
In recent versions of Wi-Fi, transmitted signals can carry more information without changing the underlying channel.
Wi-Fi 7 connects users to more spectrum and uses smarter modulation schemes that deliver more throughput without upgrading link speeds at every access point. In other words, with Wi-Fi 7, fewer RF channels and backhaul links are serving more devices, people and traffic.
Modern technology has also changed bandwidth requirements.
Instead of the heavy and uncompressed feeds of the past, security cameras now stream compressed 1080p over a 10 Mb/s link. Most guest applications don’t require constant high bandwidth, either. Digital behaviors like streaming, browsing and app usage are intermittent. As a result, today’s hotel network designs can support guest and operational experiences with far less infrastructure than in the past.
Put capacity where it counts
When it comes to bandwidth, bigger isn’t always better anymore. This shift makes room for a different philosophy: Instead of defaulting to maximum speed everywhere, align hotel network design with what each part of the network needs.
Different zones have different needs
In high-density areas, like lobbies, conference centers and back-of-house operations, bandwidth needs are high and sustained. This is where fiber backbones and 10G/40G aggregation are most valuable. But that level of infrastructure doesn’t need to be applied to every edge drop across the property. (It won’t deliver the ROI you expect, either.)
In guest rooms and for perimeter cameras, for instance, a 10 Mb/s single-pair Ethernet link may be the right fit to reduce IDFs, which ultimately lowers costs, space requirements and power/cooling consumption. If that’s all the application needs, why pay for (or install) more?
Or, in properties with existing coax, Ethernet over coax can deliver connectivity to maintain occupancy and revenue during a multi-year refresh instead of ripping out infrastructure and pulling new fiber to guest rooms.
In a recent project, Belden used this approach to upgrade in-room connectivity, helping the owner avoid the disruption and expense of a full renovation.
What you gain by building your hotel network with purpose
“Biggest-pipe” designs drive up costs without improving KPIs around guest satisfaction, operational efficiency and security. They also accumulate technical debt by installing, powering and maintaining infrastructure that’s never fully used or delivering full value.
The benefits of right-sizing your hotel network design
Deploying bandwidth where it drives real value can deliver advantages when it comes to budgets and long-term operations:
- Reduces costs by matching link speeds and media to demand and significantly reducing capital spend and operating expenses
- Simplifies installation by letting installers reuse existing pathways and cabling where they can to avoid unnecessary work
- Supports flexibility to tailor each zone to its workload and support future changes without replacing entire segments of the network
- Improves lifecycle management by supporting upgrades to core infrastructure instead of refreshing thousands of edge connections
- Boosts guest satisfaction scores by focusing investment on the experiences guests notice
- Enhances operational efficiency by reducing the number of closets, devices and switches that need to be monitored, maintained and cooled
- Avoids waste by making sure you don’t buy, install and maintain capacity that won’t be used
- Shortens project timelines so renovated spaces start generating revenue sooner
Move from “biggest pipe” to “best fit”
Maxing out bandwidth made sense when the underlying technology couldn’t deliver performance more efficiently. But now it can.
This presents hotel and resort operators with a new opportunity to rethink investments in hotel network design: placing capacity where density and traffic demand it, and right‑sizing everywhere else.
Belden can assess your applications and infrastructure, pain points and future needs to help you design a network that improves guest satisfaction and operations. As your trusted advisor, we’ll help you connect to what’s possible as you choose the right technology for each part of your property. Your network will be able to keep up with your plans without being bigger and more expensive than it needs to be.
Our complete connection solutions are designed to meet your property where it is today—and to grow along with it.