---
title: "The Times-Mail: Wireless Zone Business Owner Discusses How Brand Evolves Alongside Changing Technology"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/a67c3cb6-a441-421f-93a1-4dc3470f5a43
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/the-times-mail-wireless-zone-business-owner-discusses-how-brand-evolves-alongside-changing-technology-4737
category: "Fitness"
industry: "Fitness"
topics: ["Technology"]
published: 2016-05-25T22:17:58.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T04:15:18.135Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/f3a810b552e4401484f066f6264c87c56555160824133852.png
---

# The Times-Mail: Wireless Zone Business Owner Discusses How Brand Evolves Alongside Changing Technology

**TL;DR:** Wireless Zone franchisee Darren Fortner discusses the brand's evolution and his success as a top performer. Fortner's family business joined with Wireless Zone to scale while remaining family-owned.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2016-05-25. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/the-times-mail-wireless-zone-business-owner-discusses-how-brand-evolves-alongside-changing-technology-4737).*

## Story

The article starts by mentioning Fortner’s family history with wireless technology, and most recently, with Wireless Zone. Specifically, the article touches on the incredible advancements he has seen in his time in the business, and he mentions how joining with Wireless Zone allowed him to scale his business while remaining a family operation.

Said Fortner, "It basically allowed us to act as a 400-store operation...but yet maintain our family owned business.”

The paper also spoke with Wireless Zone vice president of business development Jeff Panella, who said that Fortner is a model franchisee in the system.

"He's involved in his business. He's engaged in the community, and he's got some of the best customer ratings in our company. It's an honor to have somebody like Darren in our system. He's a model

for other franchises, and he's got a great business mind as well," Panella said.

Despite the accolades, Fortner gave the credit to those who work in his stores on the front lines, saying, “It's a lot less of what I did, but a lot more about what my staff did. We have amazing front line people who handle our customers and amazing wireless consultants. They're excellent at what they do."

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Fitness (sector)
- family business (topic)
- franchisee success (topic)
- Wireless Zone (company)
- brand evolution (topic)
- wireless technology (topic)

---
Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/the-times-mail-wireless-zone-business-owner-discusses-how-brand-evolves-alongside-changing-technology-4737). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/a67c3cb6-a441-421f-93a1-4dc3470f5a43).