When businesses move into a new office, warehouse, or campus, one of their first objectives is to set up internet in their space. Historically, real estate owners have been unable to help their tenants establish this critical infrastructure required for day-one operations. However, with Meter, they can now provide tenants with performant, secure, and reliable networking from day one, differentiating their spaces and helping tenants get operational more quickly.
Basil Ayoub, owner and manager of 512 2nd Street in downtown San Francisco, understands the importance of reliable infrastructure. Dating back to 1906 and built as part of the rebuilding efforts after the big earthquake that decimated much of San Francisco, 512 2nd Street is 20,000 sq ft and consists of 4 floors, each operating as a separate suite.
“My parents bought this building in the 1960s when most businesses around here were industrial,” Basil tells us. “At first, my father ran a clothing factory out of the upstairs spaces and rented out the first floor. Over the years, I have grown to oversee all of our real estate holdings, including 512.” In parallel, his family evolved it from an industrial space to a modern office hub.
Pre-installed internet infrastructure with Meter
Meter’s presence at 512 2nd St. goes back to 2020 when Gabi, an existing customer, first moved in and deployed Meter into their suite. Throughout Gabi’s tenancy, Meter met Basil in his capacity as leasing agent and building manager. And over time, Basil saw firsthand how seamless networking with Meter was—no ISP negotiations, no troubleshooting, just fast, reliable service.
By 2023, another startup signed a lease with a short move-in timeline. Remembering Gabi’s experience, Basil recommended Meter. The transition was immediate. Later that year, when Gabi relocated, they left their Meter hardware behind. The next tenant, Age1, signed their Meter contract within a day—knowing they could be online immediately.
Seeing the impact, Basil worked with Meter to pre-install networking in the remaining vacant suites. Because Meter built its networking stack from the ground up, every piece of hardware can be auto-provisioned in its warehouse, allowing network setup to happen in minutes or hours, not weeks. When the first-floor tenant, HockeyStack, needed connectivity, they hit the ground running—thanks to the pre-installed hardware.
Basil is quick to point out that having internet infrastructure already in place is a notable value proposition for his typical tenants, early-stage startups. “Once I engage a prospective tenant, the first question they ask is ‘how do we get online?’” he relates. “Now that Meter is installed in every suite, I can tell them to reach out, and they can be up and running in a matter of days.”
“A major benefit from my perspective is that it’s hands-off. I don’t have to be involved, Meter’s team handles everything. There’s no risk for me to take on, as Meter works directly with the tenants. And so far, every tenant loves the service they get from Meter, so it’s a win-win as far as I’m concerned.” Basil Ayoub Owner, 512 2nd St.
Seamless setup for growing companies
One of those tenants is Hyperbound, an AI-powered sales training tool. CTO Atul Raghunathan needed an office that would house his exponentially scaling startup. “We’re an AI-powered role-playing tool for sales teams to use when training new agents or working to streamline their sales processes,” Atul describes. “Using Hyperbound frees sales managers from having to play the part of the customer and focus on other, more important parts of their role while Hyperbound ensures their team is ready for the next big deal.”
One of the challenges Atul faced when establishing his company’s first office was that Hyperbound must comply with ISO 27001 as well as SOC II and monitoring everyone’s hardware onsite was complicating matters.
Atul remembers, “We were on the market when our friends at HockeyStack let us know they were vacating their space at 512. HockeyStack recommended Meter, and after a call with the team, it was an easy decision. We didn’t even have to negotiate with ISPs, Meter took care of it. Everything is included in a single monthly bill.”
For Atul, a major bonus of working with Meter is how they simplified and consolidated billing with Meter Connect. “I spoke with someone on the sales team and had a DocuSign in my inbox 30 minutes later with billing for our ISP included. It’s one less bill to pay, and as far as I’m concerned, it’s all the same service, with internet access; it just makes sense. We moved in and were online and working with zero downtime.”
“The nice part about using Meter is that I just don’t have to think about it. Worrying about internet access is just one more thing that takes up mental bandwidth I’d rather use to run my company. Meter took it off my plate, and I couldn’t be happier.” Atul Raghunathan CTO, Hyperbound
One of Atul’s non-negotiables was that his network provider had to support SOC II compliance. For Hyperbound, that meant logging all guest access. Atul quickly set up a captive portal on the guest network using the Meter Dashboard and linked it to a registration page. Despite having no prior experience, he completed the setup in minutes—ensuring every guest was logged and audit-ready.
Meter: the internet utility
The story of 512 2nd St highlights the value of pre-installed internet infrastructure. For landlords, it reduces leasing friction and adds value to the property. For tenants like Hyperbound, it means reliable, secure networking with zero upfront costs on day one, and the ability to get up and running in the space more quickly.
Long term, Meter plans to turn internet infrastructure into the next modern utility. It’s actually the origin of the name. Everyone has a power meter and a water meter. When tenants move into a new space, they expect them to turn on just work. We think, with the right approach, the same can and should be true for the internet.
“Yes, I would absolutely recommend Meter to other landlords and building owners,” says Basil. “It’s an easy solution for tenants and landlords alike, provided they have similar involvement with their tenants and their IT infrastructure.”
“I think it’s a perfect solution. Meter is easy for tenants to integrate into their office build, and being able to walk in and be working on day one is a huge value-add for everyone.” Basil Ayoub Owner, 512 2nd St.
And from the tenant's perspective, Atul tells us “I would 100% recommend Meter to any future tenants of this space or anyone looking to set up a new office elsewhere. The benefits of not having to think about it, yet knowing that everything is being handled and covered by one monthly bill is exactly the peace of mind you want as a business owner.”