Los Angeles

Wander has reimaged the internet-service business, and now it is opening up shop in L.A. The Internet provider has made a name for itself by offering high-speed Internet service for $25 per month without a contract commitment. The business model is based on providing only the speeds that residents use, which is typically 50 Mbps per year or less.

"I started my career at Disney right as Comcast made a hostile takeover bid in the group tasked with presenting to the board on whether it was worth pursuing," David Fields, Wander founder tells GlobeSt.com. "This gave me an early education on the Internet Service Provider (ISP) business. While I saw strengths with high gross margins, there were weaknesses when it came to return on invested capital because of the high capex. I also gained insight into how bad the customer experience can be and while I was at Disney, a long-time beloved brand, rates around customer satisfaction rates were plummeting for Comcast and hit an all-time low in 2018."

As part of the L.A. launch, Wander is partnering with local multifamily owners and pass on the benefits to residents. "We have partnerships with real estate owners that control over 200 buildings across greater Los Angeles," Fields explains. "We are actively speaking with potential apartments every day to bring an affordable, high-speed Internet option to their tenants who are in need of better option and more transparency."

The major benefit for property owners is Wander's rooftop lease. As such, owners can share in the revenue of the building's subscribers. "We also provide marketing support for property management teams to help drive customers to Wander and owners receive a larger revenue share for the subscribers that come through this channel," says Fields. "This opens up opportunity for owners to generate thousands in recurring revenue yearly."

In addition to the rooftop lease, the platform has the broader benefit of solving the Internet question for apartment owners and residents. Wander provides both low cost and convenient access to Internet, an amenity that is a requirement for every renter. "Because we have industry experience, we understand the obligations that owners are willing to take on and ones that they would like to have handled by a third party like Wander," adds Fields. "Wander handles all the details from installation, maintenance and customer service and gives owners an ongoing revenue stream."

With these benefits, it isn't surprising that the program has been popular among apartment owners. "The response has been great with our first partners. We are now expanding to other properties of theirs and launching with broader coverage in Santa Monica, Van Nuys and Sherman Oaks as of today," says Fields. "We now have over 20,000 units and homes in our coverage area."