Homebuyers are not simply looking for a house – they are searching for community, and developers are responding. As planned residential communities surge in number, it becomes vital to offer the amenities and opportunities that potential homebuyers are searching for, lest they look elsewhere. With work-from-home setups here to stay, and smart devices increasing in number, offering a quality network experience is both increasingly in demand and a prime opportunity to surge ahead of the competition. For many developers, investing in networking infrastructure is a significant cost, with the expected return being more homes sold – but the network itself remains an expense. With RG Nets’ rXg networking gateway, not only can developers and their technicians build a network that draws buyers, but one that offers additional profit opportunities.

To demonstrate some of the key features the rXg offers, we will follow the Johnson family as they move into their new planned community.

Walkthrough

The movers are still unloading the moving truck when the Johnson family first connects to their new home network. Their modem and router were installed the day before by a community technician. Thanks to the rXg’s inbuilt SD‑WAN technology and customizable workflows, the technician simply had to plug in the equipment and it was automatically provisioned with the “new home owner” profile and settings. The remaining network customization is done easily and immediately by the homeowner.

Mr. Johnson connects to the network and is automatically directed to a Custom Captive Portals. This portal is branded with the community’s logo and information, and has him enter Personally Identifying Information (PII) to create the managerial account for the household. In this case, the network administrators have decided to utilize individual logins instead of custom SIDs with shared passwords. Either option, and more besides, are fully configurable through the rXg’s dashboard. Each end-user will be able to use their login to access their home network as well as all community access points.

Mr. Johnson helps his children create their own logins on their personal devices. He is pleased to see that there is an option to mark their accounts as minor, which will automatically apply the rXg’s enhanced Content Filtering . While network administrators are utilizing Content Filtering on adult accounts as well – ensuring that illicit, illegal, or malware-ridden material cannot be accessed on the network, there is additional filtering on minor accounts for child safety purposes. Parents can further customize their children’s browsing access in the Parental Control panel of their Custom Portal. Everything from content to the length of time children are able to access the network each day can be configured easily.

Customization options don’t end there – with the rXg’s Neutral Host Access, community developers are able to offer homeowners their choice of Internet Service Providers. Neutral Host Access allows businesses to take full advantage of multiple uplinks, typically maintained to prevent slowdowns or outages, and turn them into an opportunity for customer choice. Developers worked with the ISPs they receive service from to offer several Internet packages to meet differing end-user’s needs. In addition to various ISP options, there are multiple speed and options and add-ons, such as a dedicated VPN for those who work from home. If one uplink goes down, all end-users will be immediately transferred to an available active network until their ISP of choice comes back online.

Mr. Johnson chooses an option with an included VPN and bundled cable package. He is happy to see that instead of having to create an external account, he can pay his Internet bill directly through the Portal thanks to the rXg’s Integrated Billing. Developers can handle ISP payments themselves, and even allow home owners to pay utility bills with the Property Management Portal if they so choose. Direct, integrated billing allows developers to easily offer a greater variety of options to end-users, reduces the number of programs administrators have to juggle, and reduces – or entirely eliminates – the need to sacrifice revenue to third-party programs.

When exploring their new neighborhood, the Johnsons see an area where developers and administrators have utilized a third-party system. Networked security cameras monitor shared and public spaces, increasing community safety. With the rXg’s Third Party Integration, these security cameras are easily managed directly through the rXg’s dashboard. The Multiple PSK feature enables network administrators to let staff set their own network passwords and assign access profiles to each, allowing them to view and utilize role-relevant network resources. In this case, community Security staff are able to access the Security pane of the rXg dashboard, but no panes out of the scope of their roles. This increases network security by restricting access and removing the need for shared passwords.

As the Johnsons walk through the community, their devices seamlessly roam from one Access Point to the next. Each area of the network recognizes their profiles and maintains the appropriate Filters or access parameters. If they visit a neighbor’s home, there are a few connection options depending on how their neighbor has customized their network. Administrators have configured the rXg to let owners to either automatically allow recognized community members onto their home network, configure a Guest Access Password, or utilize Sponsored Self-Registration. Sponsored Self-Registration lets visitors send a network access request to the home’s network manager. With the click of a button in their Portal, the homeowner can grant or refuse access.

The Johnsons receive notifications on their phones that there is a New Community Member Mixer that evening at the Community Center. Here, the administrators are utilizing the rXg’s Events feature, which allows admins to configure notification events based on any number of configurable triggers. These triggers can be a scheduled event, such as the Mixer, end-users performing certain actions on the network, or even in combination with Dwell Time if an end-user spends a specified amount of time at a location. If, for instance, the Johnsons had used their Portal to reserve a picnic table for a party, they would receive an Event notification when their reserved time was coming to an end.

At the Community Center, rotating signs keep visitors updated on events, clubs, and other community activities. These are updated and managed through the Digital Signage feature in the rXg, accessed directly on the dashboard by community event staff. The kids are thrilled to see that the game room has several gaming consoles available to play with. These are kept from wandering off with the rXg’s Device Tracking, which allows administrators to keep track of all networked devices, preventing loss and theft. Mr. Johnson mentions to his wife that the quality of their browsing experience hasn’t dropped since switching from their home network to the community one. This is the rXg’s Fair Share Equalization in action, an enhanced and fully configurable QoL feature that intelligently keeps network resources balanced and end-users connections functional even under heavy loads.

At home after the mixer, the Johnsons finish connecting the rest of their devices. Mr. Johnson is easily able to set the kids’ devices to disconnect from the network after bedtime, making sure everyone actually goes to bed. After a few weeks, they decide to upgrade their network to a higher speed – a change completed in minutes through their Portal, and immediately paid for with Integrated Billing.

With the rXg, the network enhances every aspect of the Johnson’s experience in their new community, provides complete control and cognizance of the network and end-users to the network administrators, and provides several cost-saving and profit-generating opportunities via direct payment management, package deals with ISPs and cable providers, and data collection. Administrators, developers, and end-users are all given what they need and more with the rXg.

In Summary

This document overviews how many of the rXg’s features benefit residential environments. For a more in-depth look at each feature, and to learn about additional rXg features to fit your unique needs and workflow, visit rgnets.com or click through to individual RG Nets Feature Briefs.

From install to ongoing management, RG Nets has taken every opportunity to provide value, customizability, ease of use, and profit sources to their customers and clients. The RG Nets’ rXg fits so well into every environment that it currently runs everything from individual home networks all the way to two of the top airports and one of the top three stadiums in the United States.

Its price-for-value cannot be beat, growing with your business while retaining its cost value. The rXg’s integration with third-party hardware and software makes installation a breeze, no matter what mix of hardware and software currently utilized on site. Settings, once configured, can be easily cloned for quick deployment across chains, multi-site locations, and backups.

Whether you’re a local or national community developer, reach out to an RG Nets representative today to learn how the rXg can turn your network from a pitfall to profit, improving customer experience the whole way.