The Struggle to Provide the Ultimate Guest Experience with Aging Communications Infrastructure
The hospitality industry is built on providing guests with an elevated experience that provides all the basic necessities plus additional comforts that they may not get at home. In-room entertainment such as high-definition television with access to streaming services, interactive digital content, and specialized services such as music playlists and in-room fitness is critical to achieving high guest satisfaction.
When a guest wants to relax and watch TV, they want it to be a “home away from home” experience. They expect that the in-room technology, a smart TV for instance, is simple to use and is already set up to provide a variety of content. Guests also expect to be able to stream the same shows they have been watching at home and pick up where they left off when they get to the hotel.
Of course, providing that type of experience is not simple, especially because smart digital entertainment relies on fast, reliable communications with sufficient bandwidth for every room in a hotel. Many hotels, especially ones built before the mid-2000s, do not have the communications infrastructure to support the modern digital entertainment platforms that guests expect.
In September 2025, Actelis was approached by a global provider of hospitality technology solutions to find the right connectivity solution to enable digital entertainment services such as Apple TV, live TV, and hotel specific content for a boutique hotel in the United States. The goal was to utilize the hotel’s existing wiring to reach over 100 rooms, avoiding engineering, construction and rewiring which would be costly and disruptive to hotel guests. Actelis has proven in other implementations to be able to utilize older infrastructure - coax or phone lines (twisted pairs) to deliver the experience as if the infrastructure was new, similar to the performance of fiber.
The Challenge
As with many hotels built before the mid-2000s, this boutique hotel was wired with coax that was used to send an analog signal which did not natively support streaming services. Additionally, the hotel is made up of separate buildings making the project more complex.
The hotel could have decided to install new wiring (e.g. fiber or CAT5) to every room, but that solution would be very costly and would likely require closing off rooms/floors during the project which would mean lost revenue. Running fiber to each hotel room typically takes 3 to 6 months for full implementation including planning, permitting, material procurement, and installation. Just physical deployment alone can take approximately 30 to 60 days onsite.
The other option was to explore how to utilize the existing coax. The challenge was to find a solution that would be able to support the bandwidth and various digital services that guests now expect without replacing the existing infrastructure.
The local non-profit group, acting as the ISP, needed to find a solution that would deliver the high-speed broadband services they promised but needed to find a cost-effective way to enable those services utilizing the existing wiring in the building.
Installing fiber in a 60-year-old building was not an option because it would have been very expensive and disruptive to the residents. Cable was also not an option because the building was not wired for coax.
The ideal solution would not only be cost-effective but would also meet the grant requirements specified for affordable housing units.
The Solution
Actelis was brought into the project because of its proven ability to enable Gigabit speeds over existing wiring with no cross-talk, ensuring consistent transmission speeds and high uptime so guests can enjoy their digital content without any delays. The major keys to the Actelis solution are:
- Utilization of existing infrastructure
- Symmetrical high bandwidth to support all guest required services with the QoE expected
- Simplified installation
- No cross-talk – stable & reliable
- Ultra-low power consumption
For this project, the core of the Actelis solution was the GigaLine 9104C which is designed specifically for multi-dwelling units (MDUs) such as hotels, motels, apartment buildings, schools, hospitals and more. The GigaLine 9104C features an integrated Layer 2 switch with four G.hn coax ports and one 2.5/1 Gbps SFP/RJ-45 uplink. Each device can distribute Gigabit services utilizing the existing coax in the walls of the building to reach up to 64 units.
This highly adaptable platform allows operators to adjust to site-specific requirements when more than 16 endpoints share the same coax network. The GL9104C supports flexible port grouping (2, 3, or 4 ports) to match existing building infrastructure, enabling connectivity for up to 64 subscribers within the same coax domain.
In the case of this boutique hotel, a GL9104C device is installed in the communication room of the hotel and connects to Actelis’ GigaLine 93C customer end-point which is placed in each room. The GL93C interfaces directly with an Apple TV device via Ethernet and then HDMI to the guest’s television to enable seamless streaming of Apple TV content. The GL93C can be connected to other devices to enable similar digital services and can also be used to allow high quality WiFi to ensure guest connectivity.
Power management is critical when multiple devices are involved in the solution. Both the GL9104C and GL93C have very low power consumption (less than 18 watts and 3 watts respectively) ensuring that the hotel can minimize its electricity costs
ESS Networks, a highly experienced telecommunications integrator, was selected to provide the right solution for this critical project. ESS specializes in high-density private housing, government programs, as well as business and residential connections. The ESS team chose to partner with Actelis Networks and deploy the company’s GigaLine 900 solution within the high rise.
The GigaLine 900 dynamically allocates Gigabit, fiber-grade services to each apartment unit utilizing the existing phone lines or coax within the walls of the building or via Ethernet. It is quick to deploy and a very cost-effective way for ISPs to bring broadband services to residents that need more bandwidth. The solution is environmentally friendly as well, with a power consumption of only 5 watts.
The GigaLine 900 solution is made up of the GL916, a 16-port G.hn PON extender that is typically deployed in the telecom room or basement of the building, and the GL91, a very compact G.hn Ethernet bridge that is placed in each apartment and connected to the customer’s WiFi gateway. Each GL916 can bring services to up to 16 apartments. Multiple GL916’s can be stacked to reach more apartments. The GL91 is able to interface with any WiFi gateway.
In the case of the high rise, service was being delivered into the building by a fixed wireless access point (Siklu mmWave) on the roof. The signal was converted to Ethernet and connected to the GL916 device in the telecom room. Each GL91 was connected to a MikroTik hAP WiFi router in each apartment unit.
Before deployment, ESS staff tested the viability of the phone lines. In most instances, ESS was able to utilize the existing twisted pair phone lines to connect each apartment. When that was not possible, their team connected the GigaLine 900 solution with Ethernet cabling.
The Outcome
In a short amount of time, the ESS team was able to deliver broadband services to residents within the high rise, providing much needed bandwidth (with the option for up to 1 Gig symmetrical) for internet access and streaming. Even though residents are paying a very low price for their internet services, the ISP’s return on investment on the Actelis solution is less than 1 year. Additionally, connecting the high rise so quickly means that the non-profit group can move on to connecting other buildings in the city, helping them to keep their stated goals of deploying affordable internet services throughout the city.
Even more importantly, residents in the high rise now have access to services that many people take for granted. They can use the tremendous increase in bandwidth for work, school, and leisure, providing much needed improvement in their way of life.
With minimal manual intervention by the project team, the boutique hotel was outfitted with Gigabit connectivity to deliver the high-end user guest experience the hotel desired. The Actelis solution quickly enabled the needed bandwidth, reliability, and consistency that was necessary for streaming, City information and other hotel content. While running fiber throughout the hotel would have taken months to complete, this project took just a few days onsite because of Actelis’ ability to take full advantage of the existing wiring. No heavy engineering, construction, or guest disruption.
By taking advantage of the existing coax in the hotel, Actelis was able to prolong the existing investment, and saved the hotel tens of thousands of dollars in engineering and deployment costs.
Most importantly, hotel guests are now able to stream Apple TV without interruption, providing the high level of service the hotel strives to provide.
Modernize. Digitize. Protect.
Actelis helps the hospitality industry by providing immediate security, Gigabit connectivity utilizing the existing wiring already installed in hotels and motels to enable WiFi, digital streaming services, and more!
Related products
- Intelligent XG-PON/Gigabit fiber extender/splitter
- 2.5 Gbps/1 Gbps uplink to support sixteen 1 Gbps customers with symmetrical services over existing copper or coax
- Green solution – Power consumption is less than 5W
- Immediate service turn-up in just a few hours
- High Quality of Experience (QoE)
- Crosstalk free
- PON extender, G.hn wave2, indoor aggregation unit
- Reach up to 64 subscribers instantly with Gigabit services utilizing existing coax
- Uplinks: 1 x 2.5 Gbps port for uplink, SFP or RJ-45
- Downlinks (towards subscribers): 4 x G.hn over coax ports, 1.7 Gbps
- Green solution – Power consumption max 18 watts
- Immediate service turn-up in just a few hours
- High Quality of Experience (QoE)
- Crosstalk free
- Intelligent XG-PON/Gigabit fiber extender/splitter
- 2.5 Gbps/1 Gbps uplink to support sixteen 1 Gbps customers with symmetrical services over existing copper or coax
- Green solution – Power consumption is less than 5W
- Immediate service turn-up in just a few hours
- High Quality of Experience (QoE)
- Crosstalk free
- G.hn customer unit/end point
- Leverages existing coaxial cabling to deliver high-speed, reliable Ethernet connectivity using advanced G.hn technology
- 2 x 10/100/1000BaseT Ethernet ports (RJ45) allowing simultaneous connection of multiple devices such as smart TVs, gaming consoles, PCs, and printers.
- Coax Port, TV Out (pass through), F-type connector LP & HP diplexer Built-in.
- Green solution – Power consumption approx. 3W
- Built in AES 128-bit encryption