Wilco Electronic Systems

Fort Washington-based communications company Wilco Electronic Systems, Inc. was founded in May 1977 by Will Daniel. Wilco billed itself as the largest African-American-owned cable provider in the Philadelphia area before its cable assets were acquired by Comcast back in 2018. The company has since pivoted to focus on low-voltage wiring and design, access control and surveillance, and Internet of Things technologies.

For its first three years, the company focused on security systems and closed circuit television. In 1980, Wilco was granted a Home Box Office (HBO) franchise to market to multi-dwelling unit buildings, one of the first times such a franchise was given to a minority-owned firm in the country. Later, the firm contracted out to the Philadelphia Housing Authority among other price-conscious “MDU” providers.