Westell Technologies sees growing opportunities in network densification, 5G: CEO

Westell Technologies is seeing increasing opportunities in areas such as network densification, in-building wireless, 5G and the internet of things, the company’s President and CEO Stephen John told investors during a conference call. “The industry, which continues to be characterized by ever-increasing bandwidth needs, combined with more and more connected devices, is in the early stages of a new wave of infrastructure investment. Network densification, in-building wireless expansion, deep optical fiber access, 5G, and IoT, are at the heart of this new wave,” John said. “Our customers are designing new more efficient network architectures, not only for today’s needs, but also to lay the foundation for the eventual rollout of 5G,” he added. “This includes centralized radio access networks, or CRAN, deeper fiber access solutions, densification, small cells, fixed wireless broadband access, and expanded in-building coverage, for commercial applications as well as public safety. These are examples of opportunities for us to significantly grow the business.” The executive also highlighted the increasing growth potential in the in-building wireless segment. ”I believe this is the business with the greatest potential for growth. While the market for full-scale DAS installations in large venues like stadiums and sports arenas has matured, the demand for reliable in-building coverage continues to accelerate unabated,” he said. “We have previously talked about in-building wireless for public safety, a market we believe is in the early stages relative to its overall potential. And while we have gained good traction in this market with our initial but limited set of products, additional growth will require us to broaden the product portfolio. “With some of the recent announcements around FirstNet and what AT&T is doing in that space, we’re seeing more the groundswell of interest in public safety,” he said. Westell Technologies plans to release a Class A repeater for the public safety segment by the end of this quarter, John added. The executive also said that the firm also sees growth opportunities in a number of areas including enterprise, small cell, and private LTE networks, via the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS). John also said that the firm is also actively engaging in acquisition and partnership opportunities to drive growth for in-building wireless.