nepsa Believes Infrastructure Doesn’t Have to be Ugly
nepsaSM (which is “aspen” spelled backward) has tasked itself with “making cities smarter®” in a more aesthetically pleasing way. With IoT and 5G on the horizon, nepsa set out to solve a problem: how to efficiently deploy small cells to meet the exploding demand for data usage in a visually pleasing package.
President David A. Wigdahl started the company a year and a half ago, but this is not his first rodeo. With nearly 30 years of experience in the telecommunications industry, Wigdahl has built thousands of cell sites: macro, DAS, and small cell. He brings a wealth of expertise in wireless technology with a deep understanding of how to get things done.
Wigdahl was introduced to the world of wireless networks in the early 1990s and has been hooked ever since. In 2009 he was tasked by a major wireless carrier to gather radios and antennas and perform an application to put up a small cell on a pole. The question the client posed was, “Can you make this stuff look pretty?” Wigdahl’s response? “Not really!”
Fast-forward to the present. Wigdahl never forgot that moment and decided it was time to make a small cell product that’s functional (for telecom) and aesthetically pleasing (for municipalities). Wigdahl worked with engineers to develop the KitstiK™, a self-contained telescopic pole that can adjust for heights between 25’ – 40’, houses up to six radios and equipment in a compact space, allows for convenient access for upgrades or service, an option for co-location, and is customizable (lighting, color options) to match the look and feel of existing street furniture.
nepsa works with tower companies, carriers, and municipalities to address the complex challenges they face and build relationships to get things accomplished. Wigdahl is passionate about making connectivity work for all players involved. “Phones and cities need infrastructure to operate but it’s what we put into that infrastructure that makes everything else smart. We need fiber and transport for a signal and for IoT to operate properly, which requires housing it somewhere. By combining the needs of all parties involved, we can utilize a light pole as both a light and transport mechanism; additionally, the light pole can also look nice. This is where the win-win-win comes in for the telecom provider and carrier plus the municipality,” said Wigdahl.
nepsa has offices in Elgin and Chicago, IL and Palm Beach Gardens, FL, and is focused on implementing a new and better way to build out our nation’s infrastructure. For more information or to contact nepsa, visit https://nepsa.com/.
By Keara M. Piekanski, Inside Towers
October 27, 2017
