For Commercial Buildings
Building-Wide Infrastructure That Scales
Commercial buildings in Kampala are growing faster than the IT inside them. Tenants expect reliable connectivity, security, and modern amenities — but most buildings rely on ad-hoc cabling, outdated networks, and no centralized management. Backspace designs and installs backbone infrastructure that attracts premium tenants, reduces complaints, and adds measurable value to your property.
Common IT Challenges for Commercial Buildings
These are the problems we see over and over. If any of these sound familiar, we can help.
Constant Tenant Complaints
Tenants call about slow WiFi, dead network ports, and unreliable connectivity every week. Your property team spends hours chasing IT issues instead of managing the building. Complaints escalate and tenants start looking for better-connected offices.
Aging Cabling That Can't Keep Up
Most commercial buildings in Kampala were wired with Cat5 or worse. These cables max out at 100Mbps and degrade over time. Modern tenants need gigabit speeds for cloud apps, video calls, and POS systems — aging cabling simply can't deliver.
No Centralized Security
Each floor or tenant has its own ad-hoc CCTV setup. There's no building-wide access control, no visitor management, and no unified security monitoring. Theft, unauthorized access, and security incidents go undetected.
Different Tenants, Different Needs
A tech startup needs gigabit symmetrical. A law firm needs secure isolated networks. A restaurant needs POS and kitchen display connectivity. One-size-fits-all cabling doesn't accommodate these varying requirements.
No Future-Proofing
Your building was wired once and never upgraded. There's no fiber backbone, no conduit for future expansion, and no plan for 10Gbps or beyond. Every tenant buildout becomes an expensive retrofit instead of a simple plug-and-play.
How Backspace Helps
We don't just sell equipment. We design, install, and support complete solutions for commercial buildings.
Backbone Cabling
Building-wide structured cabling with fiber backbone, riser management, and floor-by-floor tenant distribution. We install Cat6a and fiber from the main distribution frame to every floor, ensuring each tenant gets dedicated high-speed connectivity without shared bottlenecks.
Building WiFi
Enterprise-grade wireless across lobbies, corridors, parking areas, and common spaces. We deploy ceiling-mounted access points with centralized management, VLAN separation for tenant vs. guest networks, and seamless roaming throughout the building.
Access Control & CCTV
Building-wide CCTV covering all entry points, car parks, elevators, and corridors. Biometric and card-based access control for restricted floors, server rooms, and parking. Centralized monitoring from a single dashboard for building management.
Tenant Solutions
Flexible infrastructure that lets each tenant get exactly what they need. Dedicated fiber drops, independent VLANs, scalable bandwidth per floor, and a standardized tenant handoff package that makes move-ins fast and painless.
Power Infrastructure
Building-wide UPS systems for MDF/IDF rooms, common area networking, and security infrastructure. Automatic transfer switches and PDU management to protect critical building systems during power outages.
Managed IT Maintenance
Proactive monitoring of building-wide network infrastructure, scheduled audits, firmware updates, and guaranteed SLAs. We keep the backbone healthy so tenants never experience downtime.
Software Supply & Licensing
Licensed building management software, security platforms, Microsoft 365 for common areas, and monitoring tools — supply, installation, and ongoing license management for property operations.
How It Works
From first call to full deployment — here's what working with us looks like.
Building Survey
We walk every floor, inspect risers, check existing cabling, map out the main distribution frame, and identify structural constraints. We document power availability, conduit routes, and tenant floor plans to build a complete picture of your building's IT landscape.
Infrastructure Design
Our engineers produce a detailed cabling topology: fiber backbone route, riser cabling paths, floor distribution points, MDF/IDF locations, and wireless access point placement. We design for current tenant capacity and future expansion without major retrofits.
Build-Out & Installation
Certified technicians install fiber backbone, copper risers, floor distribution cabling, CCTV cameras, access control readers, and WiFi access points. All work is Fluke-tested, documented, and certified to ANSI/TIA-568 standards before handover.
Tenant Onboarding
When tenants move in, we handle their specific connectivity setup — patching, VLAN assignment, bandwidth allocation, and testing. Each tenant gets a handoff document with their port map, test results, and support contact. Move-ins become plug-and-play.
What's Included
Every project includes everything you need — no hidden costs, no surprise add-ons.
Before & After Backspace
Here's what changes when we take over your commercial buildings infrastructure.
Before
- Cat5 cabling maxing out at 100Mbps per tenant
- Tenants complaining about slow internet every week
- Each tenant installs their own ad-hoc WiFi and CCTV
- No centralized security monitoring or access control
- Building management has no visibility into IT issues
- New tenant move-ins take 2-3 weeks of IT setup
After
- Cat6a and fiber backbone delivering 1Gbps+ to every tenant
- Reliable building-wide WiFi with zero dead zones
- Centralized CCTV and access control managed from one dashboard
- Each tenant gets an isolated, secure network with guaranteed bandwidth
- Building management sees real-time network health and occupancy data
- New tenants are online within hours with a plug-and-play handoff
Case Study
Namanve Business Park — Tower B Upgrade
Namanve, Kampala, Uganda
Challenge
Tower B at Namanve Business Park was built in 2016 with Cat5e cabling that could no longer keep up. Tenants reported frequent connectivity drops, the building had no centralized access control, and each floor had a different ad-hoc WiFi setup. Management was losing tenants to newer buildings with better IT infrastructure. The existing cabling couldn't be upgraded without disrupting occupied floors.
Solution
Backspace designed a phased upgrade plan that kept existing tenants operational throughout the project. We installed a new single-mode fiber backbone from the MDF to each floor's IDF, replacing the aging copper risers. Cat6a cabling was run to every tenant suite during overnight maintenance windows. We deployed 48 enterprise WiFi access points across all floors, lobbies, and car parks — all managed from a single controller. 64 Hikvision IP cameras were installed with a centralized NVR, and biometric access control was added to the server room, parking garage, and executive floors.
Results
Within three months of completion, tenant complaints dropped to near zero. Average tenant bandwidth went from 80Mbps to 1.2Gbps. Building management gained real-time visibility into network health and occupancy through a unified dashboard. Two vacant floors that had been hard to fill were leased within weeks — both new tenants cited the upgraded IT infrastructure as a deciding factor. The building's rental rate increased 15% on renewed leases.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you upgrade the cabling without displacing existing tenants?
Yes. We plan upgrades in phases — typically one floor at a time — and schedule heavy work during off-hours or weekends. Existing tenants stay operational throughout the project. We also coordinate with building management to provide advance notice and temporary connectivity solutions where needed.
How much does building-wide backbone cabling cost in Kampala?
Costs depend on the number of floors, existing infrastructure, and scope. For a typical 8-12 floor commercial building in Kampala, a full backbone upgrade with fiber, Cat6a risers, and floor distribution runs between UGX 80M and UGX 180M. We provide a detailed quote after the building survey — no surprises, no hidden fees.
How long does a full building IT upgrade take?
A typical 10-floor commercial building takes 8-12 weeks from survey to full deployment. We work in phases to minimize disruption — the backbone and risers are installed first, then floor-by-floor distribution, followed by WiFi, CCTV, and access control. Tenant-level handoffs happen as each floor is completed.
Can different tenants on the same floor get different network speeds?
Absolutely. Each tenant gets a dedicated VLAN and bandwidth allocation that can be scaled independently. A tech company might need 2Gbps symmetrical while a law firm needs 200Mbps with strict security isolation. Our infrastructure supports per-tenant bandwidth management through centralized switches.
What happens when a new tenant moves in after the build-out?
New tenant move-ins are plug-and-play. We pre-wire each suite to a floor IDF, so when a tenant signs a lease, we simply patch their ports, assign their VLAN, configure their bandwidth allocation, and hand over a port map with test results. Most tenants are online within a few hours, not weeks.
Ready to get started?
Tell us about your commercial buildingsinfrastructure. We'll assess your setup and give you a straight answer on what needs to change.