WiredScore is a certification for a building’s digital connectivity: how well it’s wired for internet and mobile service, and how resilient that service is. SmartScore, from the same organisation, certifies a building’s smart technology: what its systems do for the people who use and run it, and how securely they’re built.
Both rate a building at one of four levels, from Certified up to Platinum. Landlords and developers use them to show tenants, buyers and investors what they’d otherwise have to take on trust.
What WiredScore measures
WiredScore asks whether the people in a building can get fast, reliable connectivity, and keep it. Tenants put that first: in WiredScore and EY’s study Office users in the digital age, 83% of tenants said internet was the most important factor in a workplace, 70% of internet problems came down to the building’s infrastructure, and an hour of downtime was put at $300,000.
Its scorecard looks at:
- Providers. How many internet service providers can serve the building, so tenants have a choice.
- Routes in. How many separate fibre routes enter the building, so one cut cable doesn’t take everyone offline.
- Infrastructure. The telecoms rooms, risers and pathways that carry the service through the building, and whether there’s room to grow.
- Resilience. Backup power and protection for telecoms equipment.
- Mobile coverage. Whether phones work inside, including in cores and basements.
- Tenant experience. How easy it is for a tenant to get connected, and get help.
- Readiness. Whether the building can take the next generation of fixed and wireless services.
WiredScore began with offices, and now certifies homes too, under a scorecard of their own.
What SmartScore measures
SmartScore looks at two things: what the building’s technology does, and the foundations it’s built on.
- What it does for users. How the building’s technology serves the people in it and the people running it: comfort and wellbeing, energy and sustainability, maintenance and operations, safety and security, and the services and amenities on offer.
- The technology foundations. The networks the systems run on, how the systems connect and share data, cybersecurity, who owns and governs the data, and whether the landlord can manage the platform and add to it over time.
It looks for systems that work together, not a list of gadgets.
The levels
Both certifications award four levels: Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum. The level depends on the points a building scores against the scorecard. The thresholds, and the points for each item, are set in WiredScore’s current scorecards, which change from version to version.
A building still in design can be pre-certified at the level it’s aiming for, and certified once the design is far enough along to prove it. A new building’s certificate lasts until 18 months after completion; an existing building’s lasts two years. Then it’s recertified.
What certification is worth
The strongest evidence is a study of United States offices by Moody’s Analytics, Digital Connectivity and the Evolving Office Sector (December 2022). It compared certified offices with offices without certification, holding age, class, operating costs, size and location equal. The certified offices had:
- Vacancy 3.8% lower, on average.
- Rents $6.50 a square foot higher.
- Leases about nine months longer.
Certified Class A offices also beat the national Class A average on rent growth, by 2.2% over two years. Moody’s is careful about cause: the certificate doesn’t fill a building, the connectivity it measures and improves does.
Other studies point the same way:
| Finding | Source |
|---|---|
| Certified offices in Paris had 2.8% vacancy, against 5.4% for offices without certification. | Cushman & Wakefield, 2018 |
| Rents rose by an average 6.9% from each level to the next, Certified to Platinum. | CoStar, 2018 |
| Certification could add up to 14% to a building’s net asset value. | UBS, 2018 |
| Occupiers would likely pay 5% more rent for a London office with a WiredScore rating. | EG, 2019 |
| 79% of decision makers would rather lease a WiredScore certified building. | Radius, 2017 |
These figures come from WiredScore’s own summary of the studies, and the newest is from 2022. Read them as a direction, not a forecast.
How widely it’s used
WiredScore has certified more than 100 million square metres of space, for more than 1,000 clients in more than 160 cities, and more than nine million people work or live in its buildings. One in three Manhattan offices is certified, as are one in two City of London office developments and one in three grade A office buildings in Hong Kong.
Since 2022 it has grown fast in Asia Pacific, to about 400 buildings across ten markets by 2025. It launched in Thailand in March 2023 with 11 owners and developers and 23 buildings, One Bangkok among them.
WiredScore and SmartScore side by side
| WiredScore | SmartScore | |
|---|---|---|
| Rates | Digital connectivity | Smart technology, and what it delivers |
| The question | Can people get fast, reliable, resilient service? | Do the systems make the building better to use and run, and are they secure? |
| Main evidence | Telecoms design, providers, risers and rooms, coverage | System design, integration, use cases, cybersecurity and data governance |
| Levels | Certified, Silver, Gold, Platinum | Certified, Silver, Gold, Platinum |
| Decided by | The base build’s telecoms design | The architecture behind every system, before procurement |
How assessment works
Assessment follows six steps:
- Register the building with WiredScore.
- Kick off with WiredScore’s team, to agree the scorecard and what evidence it needs.
- Assess the building against the scorecard: a new building on its design, an existing one as it stands.
- Submit evidence, such as drawings, specifications, provider agreements and test results.
- Get certified once WiredScore has reviewed the evidence and set the level.
- Promote the certification to tenants, buyers and investors.
For SmartScore, the kick-off comes within two weeks of signing, and WiredScore reviews up to five rounds of evidence. A new building is usually certified at detailed design; an existing one within 30 days of the call that reviews its building report.
For a new building, most of the evidence is the design itself, so the earlier the scorecard is in front of the design team, the cheaper the points are.
Designing for both from the start
Most of what SmartScore rewards is decided before the first technology vendor is appointed: whether systems share one integration layer, who owns the data, and how cybersecurity is designed in. Leave those to each vendor, and the owner gets thirty systems that each work alone.
WiredScore’s points are decided early too, in the base build. In practice, the decisions that sit before procurement are:
- Space. Telecoms rooms and risers sized for more providers and more equipment than day one needs, with separate routes into the building.
- Power. Backup power for telecoms and building systems, designed in rather than added.
- Coverage. How mobile signal will reach every floor, core and basement, decided while ceilings and cores are still on paper.
- The network. Whether building systems share one managed network or each bring their own.
- The integration layer. One vendor-neutral platform that every system connects to, specified before any system is bought.
- Data and security. Who owns the data each system produces, and the cybersecurity standard every vendor must meet, written into the tenders.
Each of these is cheap on a drawing and expensive in a finished building.
One Bangkok shows the other way. We designed and delivered its integration framework: more than 30 operational and Internet of Things (IoT) systems, from energy and water to security, mobility and building management, connected through one vendor-neutral platform, with cybersecurity controls and data privacy safeguards built in throughout. The district’s command centre had one view of all of it from opening day. One Bangkok received WiredScore and SmartScore Platinum certifications at launch.
The lesson we took from it applies to any building aiming for SmartScore: commit to a vendor-neutral integration layer before procurement begins. It’s far harder to retrofit than to design in. Our smart building consultancy starts there.
Certifying a whole district
WiredScore and SmartScore also certify districts, as Neighborhood certifications. To qualify, a district needs at least five buildings of at least three kinds (offices, shops, hotels, homes, event spaces) in one contiguous area with a public space, indoors or out. One developer must control the master plan, and every building it controls must go for certification.
WiredScore Neighborhood has 11 criteria to meet: six minimum requirements, and five more of nine. SmartScore Neighborhood has 20: nine minimum requirements, and 11 more of 19.
Accredited professionals
WiredScore trains and accredits professionals who know its scorecards and can guide a project through certification. An accredited professional on the team means the scorecard shapes the design, instead of being checked against it at the end.
Pawel Michalski, who leads our real estate work, holds WiredScore and SmartScore accredited professional credentials.
Questions people ask
What is a WiredScore?
A rating of a building’s digital connectivity, from Certified to Platinum, awarded by WiredScore after assessing the building’s providers, infrastructure, resilience and coverage.
What are the WiredScore certification levels?
Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum, in that order.
Does WiredScore certification raise rents?
The evidence says certified offices do better. Moody’s Analytics found United States offices with WiredScore certification had vacancy 3.8% lower, rents $6.50 a square foot higher and leases about nine months longer than comparable offices without it (December 2022).
How long does certification last?
A new building’s certificate runs until 18 months after completion; an existing building’s runs for two years. Then the building is recertified.
What is SmartScore?
WiredScore’s certification for smart buildings. It rates what a building’s technology does for the people who use and run it, and the foundations it’s built on, including integration and cybersecurity.
Can a building hold both?
Yes. They measure different things, and many of the decisions behind them are made at the same stage. One Bangkok holds Platinum in both.
