A Flexible 5G-Based Network for Multi-Tenant Serviced Offices
Serviced offices · Edinburgh
Project at a Glance
The Challenge
The building operates on shorter tenant lease periods than a typical office letting. A traditional broadband contract usually means a long fixed term, which sits awkwardly against a building designed around tenants coming and going more frequently. The initial connectivity requirement needed to avoid relying on that kind of long fixed-term contract.
Separately, tenants were leaving electric heaters switched on overnight — a genuine risk to the building that couldn't just be solved by asking people to remember to switch them off.
What Curly IT Planned
A 5G connection was chosen for the initial internet requirement specifically because it avoided locking the building into a long fixed-term broadband contract, better suiting a premises built around shorter tenancies. The router was positioned to take advantage of local mobile coverage, since 5G performance depends heavily on signal at the exact installation point.
Wireless access points were installed to bring reliable network coverage into the building's communal areas. Working with an electrician brought in for the job, Curly IT also planned smart switches into the heater circuits, connected back over that same network, so heater on/off times could be scheduled and controlled automatically instead of relying on tenants.
The Installation
- ✓5G internet connection
- ✓Router positioned for local mobile coverage
- ✓Wireless access points in communal areas
- ✓Smart switches fitted with a partner electrician
The smart switches connect back to the network through the access points, letting heater schedules be set and controlled automatically — removing the risk of a heater being left on overnight rather than relying on someone remembering to switch it off.
From There: Opening Up Tenant WiFi
Once the access points were in and the building had a working network, the client started getting requests from tenants for WiFi. A speed test showed the 5G connection running at around 355 Mbps — comfortably enough to support the building, not just the smart switches — so Curly IT built out proper tenant-facing WiFi on top of the existing setup.
Rather than one shared WiFi password for the whole building, VLANs were added so each tenant could be issued a separate SSID and IP range, without being able to see or affect other tenants' traffic.
- ✓VLANs / network separation
- ✓Separate tenant SSIDs / IP ranges
The Result
The building now runs on a 5G connection reaching around 355 Mbps with no long-term broadband contract, automated heater scheduling that's removed the overnight-heater risk, and a VLAN-separated WiFi network giving each tenant their own SSID and IP range.
5G performance is location-dependent and varies with local mobile coverage — this result reflects this specific site and isn't a guaranteed speed for other premises.
Technology Used
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