Spathas contends that sky-high broadband prices are the result of inefficient installation. Imagine, he says, if each tenant had to install his own electrical service on moving into a building. "Of course it's expensive to run 34 different lines into the building, sending out teams to rip things up 34 different times," he says. Sentre offers broadband as a standard part of the building's infrastructure, just like water and electricity--and it is priced accordingly. Spathas sees this shift as an inevitable step toward meeting rising customer expectations for full-service corporate real estate. Free Wi-Fi is just icing on the cake. "Broadband is a utility; Wi-Fi is an amenity," he says. "You don't get charged for every extra ride on the elevator or every drink at the water fountain."
The strategy seems to be working. One America Plaza, which started offering the new service in June 2003, is at 95% occupancy with 35 tenants. Bruce Shepherd, a partner at law firm Latham & Watkins, decided to move 200 employees into the building in February 2004, largely on the strength of Sentre's broadband and Wi-Fi strategy. "This service and what it evidenced about their management style was a big part of that decision," he says. "If they're forward thinking about this, we figure they will probably continue to think ahead about other issues as they come up."
Spathas believes that over the next decade, commercial developers everywhere will move toward providing bandwidth according to his utility model. To that end, he has cofounded a broadband utility company called Bandwidth Now, hoping to capitalize on the trend. In the meantime, he is sure that San Diego is riding a very important wave of the future. Taking in the view from the top of One America Plaza one last time, he pauses, then says, "We're going to be the wireless capital of the world."
Alison Overholt (aoverholt@fastcompany.com) is a Fast Company staff writer.
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