1. What's the market and product focus of Wilson Electronics, and what distinguishes your products from those offered by your peers?
At Wilson Electronics, we provide a full line of connectivity solutions for both enterprise and consumer customers. Our WilsonPro brand focuses on enterprise level cellular repeater and fiber optic distribution systems for everything from hospitals to manufacturing plants, while our weBoost brand provides cell signal boosters for homes, vehicles and small businesses.
We literally invented the field of cellular repeaters, and we’re constantly engineering new solutions for the future of 5G. We’re first to market with boosters specifically designed and optimized for RVs, overlanders and other outdoor recreation vehicles. We also pioneered certified nationwide installation of our residential and small business solutions within 24 hours. Because we help everyone from large enterprises to retired RVers, we develop optimized solutions for specific use cases.
We also pride ourselves on providing a best-in-class experience, so we design and assemble all our repeaters in our Saint George, Utah, manufacturing facility. We have an expert customer support team there, and we work closely with professional integrators and installers to guarantee a great experience.
2. What's the history of the company?
Wilson Electronics started in Saint George, Utah, in 1987. We’ve pioneered the field of cellphone signal boosters, developing over 250 patents as we supported each generation of cellular coverage. We worked closely with the FCC and carrier networks to develop U.S. regulations to approve cell signal boosters across bands, and we’ve become a common solution for carrier engineers looking to expand coverage. Now we’ve expanded into multiple international markets, and our engineers are hard at work developing solutions for 5G, C-Band frequencies and more.
3. Give us a snapshot of your business.
We’re at an exciting time with the deployment of 5G, and we currently have over 300 employees and offices in Salt Lake City, Dallas, Saint George and the U.K. We base our manufacturing and customer service in Saint George to ensure the highest possible quality. Recently, we acquired Zinwave, a U.K.-based fiber optic distributed antenna system (DAS) manufacturer, and we plan to leverage the synergies of our technologies to expand coverage even farther.
Our customer base falls into three categories: consumer, commercial and carriers. Our consumer customers generally purchase boosters for homes or vehicles, while we work closely with carriers to deploy their networks across the country. Our commercial customers range across many industries, with companies from SpaceX to Whole Foods relying on our repeater systems. Now, every Tiffany’s store depends on a WilsonPro Repeater system for in-store connectivity. Our systems support multiple military installations, emergency services and government agencies as well.
We’re continuing to develop and innovate the field, and we’ve developed new repeaters and antennas to support C-Band frequencies. We recently released a new Cellular Scanner 5G with an unprecedented range of detectable frequencies, including C-Band. In the consumer space, we launched the Drive Reach Overland to provide overland and off-road customers with a booster designed for their vehicles.
4. Wilson Electronics is owned by private equity investors. How does that shape your business goals and strategy?
In May 2022, we were acquired by the private equity firm Trive Capital, and we’re excited to continue growing with their support. We’re still innovating the field of passive DAS, and our partnerships with our private investors give us more capital to engineer, develop and grow in the world of connectivity. With investments of capital, we can leap on opportunities to both organically and inorganically grow. We can seize opportunities in the market and open new doors for exciting synergies, like our acquisition of Zinwave. Trive prides themselves on investing in companies at major inflection points, and we’re working closely together to take our business to a new level.
5. How has 5G changed the market and requirements on your repeaters? Has it been an evolutionary step from LTE or required more radical changes in architecture and performance?
Low-band 5G was a simple evolutionary step that we have been planning for years, so we were ready for this rollout without any changes to our engineering. We were even able to support carrier aggregation before 5G launched. Mid-band and high-band 5G, on the other hand, are taking considerably more effort and innovation. C-Band and mmWave frequencies offer amazing benefits for data throughput and capacity, but their reduced effective range makes it a lot trickier to amplify those signals across larger spaces. Wilson was the first to market with an in-building C-Band repeater and our new Cellular Network Scanner 5G that reads C-Band and CBRS frequencies. As 5G develops, we will continue to provide the connectivity needs for businesses and enterprises.
6. For the mmWave 5G bands, we've seen multiple start-ups launched to develop electronically steerable arrays and their components, particularly semiconductors. Yet you've adopted a mmWave architecture based on dielectric waveguide antennas. Walk us through the trade-offs that led to this choice and the benefits of your approach.
Dielectric waveguide antennas let us blanket a relatively large area with mmWave coverage without the need to actively track individual user locations. While electronically steerable arrays can provide stronger targeted coverage, they require drastically higher energy consumption and maintenance. Dielectric waveguide antennas provide ultra-high gain coverage while requiring much less power per repeater. Energy costs add up quickly, so we decided that dielectric solutions gave us the high data rates users come to expect while saving money and maintaining functional simplicity and reliability.
7. Wilson Electronics also serves IoT. What types of products do you supply and what kinds of interesting applications are using your products?
Cellular communication is so ubiquitous these days that everything from slot machines to refrigerators need reliable connections. We’ve developed several small repeater systems designed to boost signals to specific IoT devices ranging from payment terminals and ATMs to electric vehicle chargers and IT server solutions. These direct connect amplifiers provide a cost-effective solution for point applications.
8. With the increased emphasis on assured supply chains and the government's desire to build the telecommunications infrastructure for the U.S. within the U.S., how does your manufacturing strategy align with this?
Telecommunications is a sensitive area, and the infrastructure products that Wilson Electronics builds provide foundational components to this critical network. We take this work seriously; so, historically, we have been solely a U.S.-based manufacturer. We recently added a manufacturing facility in Cambridge, U.K., that has equal sensitivity to security and protection for design, sourcing and manufacturing of products. Our goal is to provide all U.S. customers with products produced in our Saint George facility. We continue to invest in our own internal manufacturing capabilities with the goal of roughly doubling the value we manufacture within the next two years.
Our U.S.-based manufacturing and customer support ensure that we provide a best-in-class experience, with proprietary development, engineering and testing. By keeping our operations domestic, we ensure safe, secure manufacturing for both clients and national cybersecurity.
9. On LinkedIn, you recently shared 15 maxims on leadership. What do they convey about your philosophy of leadership and management?
I could talk about those maxims all day, and I think each has a lot of important lessons to apply to leadership. Ultimately, these maxims are about promoting an attitude of close collaboration and open transparency. Leaders need to take responsibility, promote strong communication and lead with patience, respect and passion. I try to apply and live by these maxims every day.
10. Tell us about your career path and what led to the CEO role at Wilson Electronics.
I have a BSME and moved on to earn an MBA, so I always enjoyed working in roles that married my passions for technology and business. Before Wilson, I worked for Flextronics and Logitech. At Flextronics, I drove business growth for mobility products, while at Logitech I led the charge to develop new products across all areas of the company. With the ubiquity of cell phones in today’s world, I knew Wilson Electronics was poised in an explosive market at an exciting time, and I’ve been proud to lead the company as we continue to pioneer the field into 5G.
11. Based in Utah, you are in one of the most scenic regions of the U.S. Do you take advantage of that when you leave the office?
Absolutely. I love hiking, biking, skiing, canyoneering and camping, and Utah is filled with amazing opportunities for it all. With our offices in Salt Lake City and Saint George, I can enjoy the alpine beauty of the mountains or the stark red rocks of the desert. I never miss a chance to take in the fresh air and epic landscapes.
Utah’s strong outdoors culture has influenced Wilson Electronics as well. Our own experiences with shoddy cell service in the backcountry inspired us to develop cell signal boosters for RVs and overland vehicles. Our goal is to connect everyone, everywhere, whether that’s at home, work or on a grand adventure.