Whoop Wireless has proven that just because a company changes, it doesn’t mean the quality of its product has to. The company, which provides in-building cellular and public safety systems to buildings between 30,000 square feet and 500,000 square feet, has found itself in a bit of transition as of late.
It has been almost a year since 5G Property Solutions, LLC purchased the Whoop Wireless brand along with certain assets to continue the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) product line and continue to serve and expand their managed service customer base. The company has moved its headquarters to Highlands Ranch, CO and built up its management team and infrastructure.
In acquiring Whoop Wireless, 5G Property Solutions now owns and operates the only DAS (distributed antenna system) provider that offers carrier neutrality, remote capabilities (monitoring, adjustments and alarms), a small footprint (space, power and HVAC settings) and installation services that take days rather than months. Whoop’s solutions are also NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) compliant and it designs, manufactures and installs turnkey mobile systems, including 3G, 4G and first responder wireless networks.
Whoop Wireless has installed its advanced technology systems in college campuses, hotels, hospitals, corporate offices, high rise office buildings, multi-family residential buildings and light industrial buildings and more to allow building owners to provide its tenants with seamless in-building mobile coverage.
There were a number of reasons the Whoop Wireless’ investor group was interested in its OEM platform. First, it has a proven track record and comprises reliable technology with proprietary software. Whoop Wireless’ business model also gives its customers scalability and financial flexibility.
“The systems’ scalability is key,” Jeff Bell, CEO and President of 5G Property Solutions said. “We have several entry level relationships where we addressed the critical coverage needs and have proven the concept to the customer to address those needs. Then six to nine months later the customer will come back and expand on the initial system for additional coverage.”
In terms of financial flexibility, Whoop offers its customers two financial options to choose from: the CAPEX model for one-time equipment expense that includes a managed service platform, or an OPEX model that includes cellular or public safety systems as a service that’s embedded within its managed service platform. Both financial models give Whoop customers access to the managed service platform.
Additionally, Whoop’s system is carrier neutral—it can accommodate multiple incoming carrier signals, whereas competitors typically offer only one system per platform. Whoop’s multiple-system approach allows for significant cost reductions during the initial install. Meanwhile, the company’s network monitoring and maintenance platform is proactive—Whoop made a significant investment to make it more robust based on customer feedback after beta testing it in a hospital, three universities and several multi dwelling units (MDUs) that totaled more than 40 sites.
5G Property Solutions’ acquisition also gives its access to Whoop’s customer base, and it can now offer those clients in-building managed services to address all of their in-building needs for cellular, public safety, public safety site certifications, professional services as well as cellular and public safety systems monitoring and maintenance.
Whoop Wireless’ menu of effective solutions might have been enough to gain 5G Property Solutions’ interest and investment, but the company’s customers’ repeat business and referrals likely helped push the deal over the finish line. Whoop earned a lot of happy customers with its ability to improve and stabilize net operating income for the commercial, hospitality and hospital industries. Whoop’s solutions attracted more tenants, customers and doctors to its customers’ buildings, thus bringing in more repeat revenue to the building and expanding its customers’ revenue base.
“As we went through our due diligence we saw great potential and market penetration with the Whoop brand as we spoke to current and potential customers,” Bell said. “It has been very rewarding to see the customer base continue its loyalty to the Whoop brand. I am a former military guy so our process over the past 12 months has been one of ‘crawl, walk, run.’ It has served us well.”
Whoop Wireless has installed its advanced technology systems in college campuses, hotels, hospitals, corporate offices, high rise office buildings, multi-family residential buildings and light industrial buildings and more to allow building owners to provide its tenants with seamless in-building mobile coverage.
As 5G Property Solutions overseeing Whoop Wireless started to become a reality in November of 2018, Whoop President and CEO Jeff Bell and VP of Engineering and Operations Brian Kinsey began to run the company with the assets it bought from Whoop Wireless LLC. Mark Strittmatter came on as VP of Customer Service and Sales in February of 2019. 5G Property Solutions filed for the Whoop Wireless DBA (Does Business As) to maintain relationships with the customers they had close relationships with and continued to service the existing Managed Service contracts.
While the 5G Property Solutions launch is expected to happen during early 2020, Whoop’s product quality has not been lost in shuffle.
“It’s kind of a refreshing story for small businesses and entrepreneurs that says, ‘Hey, if you engage your customer, if you have a good product, the product speaks for itself,” Bell said. “We’ve invested a lot of money in improving the products from the hardware to the software to the firmware to the managed service network monitoring maintenance platform we have. There’s a lot of good news that’s there. It did take some restructuring, but it took a new entity to move it forward.”
Whoop Wireless’ customers have also noticed its products quality hasn’t dipped during the transition. According to Bell, since they’ve reengaged with their clients, the feedback has been positive. Customers have expressed their pleasure in the fact that a number of Whoop Wireless’ products are still available. The company’s also worked with customers who want to do beta testing with Whoop on their equipment software and next generation Managed Service platform that offers cellular as a service.
“That’s all come from our customer base, so that’s been fantastic for us,” Bell said. “It’s a customer driven product—they gave us their wish list and we are entering the last phase (of four). We’ll have finished the customer’s wish list for the managed service solution piece by the end of 2019, which is pretty cool. If they build the system, they’re going want to use it and tell others about it. That’s been a good thing for us.”