Wireless Zone Franchise Failure Rate
SBA 7(a) loan default data, FY2010–FY2019 · Updated 2026
Wireless Zone franchisees defaulted on 40.7% of SBA 7(a) loans between FY2010 and FY2019 — 11 of 27 loans were charged off — according to U.S. Small Business Administration data. That is higher than the Electronics Stores industry average of 20.8%.
- 40.7%SBA default rate11 of 27 loans
- 27loans resolvedapproved FY2010–FY2019
- 20.8%Electronics Stores averageall SBA loans in the industry
- 10.2%all-franchise average7.8% non-franchised
| SBA default rate | 40.7% |
|---|---|
| Loans approved | 27 |
| Loans charged off | 11 |
| Date range | FY2010–FY2019 |
| Industry | Electronics Stores |
| Industry average | 20.8% |
| Total initial investment (FDD Item 7) | $441,875–$1,328,210 |
| Data source | U.S. SBA 7(a) FOIA loan data |
Most SBA default figures published online use loans approved since 2020 — loans that have had six years or less to fail — so those rates are floors, not outcomes. Every rate on this site is computed from the matured FY2010–FY2019 cohort: loans that have been paid in full or charged off, so the result is settled. Loans approved since 2020 are shown as counts so early charge-offs are visible without being mistaken for a rate.
Source: U.S. SBA FOIA dataset, statuses as of June 30, 2026. Figures also in the comparison table below.
About 1 in 2 Wireless Zone SBA borrowers failed to repay — well above the Electronics Stores average of 20.8%.
What is the Wireless Zone franchise failure rate on SBA loans?
Wireless Zone is a Electronics Stores franchise. This page reports the outcome of every SBA 7(a) loan the U.S. Small Business Administration's public FOIA file attributes to Wireless Zone franchisees: 27 loans approved between fiscal 2010 and 2019, of which 11 were charged off. Loan statuses are as of June 30, 2026, and the cohort has matured, so these are settled outcomes rather than projections.
- SBA 7(a) loans approved FY2010–FY201927
- Charged off11
- Charge-off rate40.7%
- Electronics Stores franchise benchmark20.8%
- Brand vs industry2.0x
- All-franchise SBA benchmark10.2%
- Average loan size, 2010s cohort$232,315
- New SBA loans since 20206
- Early charge-offs since 20200
How does Wireless Zone compare with other Electronics Stores franchises?
The table sets Wireless Zone's charge-off rate beside its Electronics Stores peers and the two economy-wide benchmarks. All figures use the same cohort — SBA 7(a) loans approved FY2010–FY2019, statuses as of June 30, 2026 — and the same denominator of resolved loans, so they are directly comparable.
| Measure | Wireless Zone | Electronics Stores | All franchises | All SBA borrowers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Default (charge-off) rate | 40.7% | 20.8% | 10.2% | 8.0% |
| Loans in sample | 27 | — | — | — |
| Defaults | 11 | — | — | — |
| Average loan size | $232,315 | — | — | — |
What would Wireless Zone's royalty and ad fund cost at your sales level?
From Wireless Zone's FDD Item 6 (2026): royalty % of sales. Royalty and ad fund only · illustration. Other Item 6 fees, fixed or percentage, and local marketing minimums are not included. Wireless Zone's royalty is a share of monthly Gross Profit, not sales: 22% on the first $5,000, stepping down to 9% on Gross Profit above $100,000.
| Annual sales | Royalty |
|---|
What has Wireless Zone SBA lending looked like since 2020?
Since 2020, Wireless Zone franchisees have taken 6 new SBA 7(a) loans. None have charged off to date, though most remain outstanding and unresolved.
Loans approved since 2020, by fiscal year — counts only: 0 have charged off to date and most are still outstanding, so no rate is drawn.
Source: U.S. SBA FOIA dataset, statuses as of June 30, 2026.
Show the numbers behind this chart
| Fiscal year | Loans | Charged off | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2010 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2011 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2014 | 3 | 1 | 33.3% |
| FY2015 | 11 | 3 | 27.3% |
| FY2016 | 5 | 3 | 60.0% |
| FY2017 | 3 | 3 | 100.0% |
| FY2018 | 2 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2019 | 1 | 1 | 100.0% |
| FY2021 | 4 | — | outstanding |
| FY2022 | 1 | — | outstanding |
| FY2023 | 1 | — | outstanding |
How to read this
A charge-off means a franchisee borrowed, operated, and failed severely enough that the SBA wrote off the government-guaranteed loan. Unlike franchisor marketing or Item 19 disclosures, this is an observed outcome recorded by a federal agency. One caveat cuts the other way: SBA borrowers are typically less capitalized than all-cash buyers, so these rates can overstate risk for well-funded operators.
How reliable is this number?
Wireless Zone's figure rests on 27 resolved SBA 7(a) loans approved between fiscal 2010 and 2019. That cohort has matured, so the rate is a settled outcome, not a projection. With 27 resolved loans, one default moves the rate by about 3.7 percentage points. Loans approved since 2020 are excluded from the rate because most are still outstanding; they appear on this page as counts only. Every Wireless Zone figure is recomputed from the public SBA FOIA file on each rebuild.
Based on 27 resolved loans — directional, not precise.
Is Wireless Zone in financial trouble? What the SBA data shows
Wireless Zone's SBA 7(a) default rate was 40.7% for loans approved FY2010–FY2019 (11 of 27 loans charged off) — the only Electronics Stores brand tracked here. A default rate this far above the Electronics Stores average of 20.8% is a signal worth investigating further before investing.
Frequently asked
- What is Wireless Zone's franchise failure rate?
- Wireless Zone franchisees defaulted on 40.7% of SBA 7(a) loans between FY2010 and FY2019 — 11 of 27 loans were charged off — according to U.S. Small Business Administration data. That is higher than the Electronics Stores industry average of 20.8%.
- How does Wireless Zone compare to other Electronics Stores franchises?
- Wireless Zone's 40.7% SBA default rate is higher than the Electronics Stores industry average of 20.8%. See every Electronics Stores franchise ranked on the Electronics Stores industry page. Electronics Stores franchises →
- What does 'SBA default rate' mean?
- An SBA default rate is the share of SBA 7(a) loans, approved FY2010–FY2019 and since resolved (paid in full or charged off), that were charged off — written off after the borrower failed to repay. It is not a measure of unit closures.
- How much does a Wireless Zone franchise cost?
- Wireless Zone's 2026 FDD puts the total initial investment (Item 7) at $441,875–$1,328,210, including an initial franchise fee of $25,000 (Item 5). The average SBA 7(a) loan to a Wireless Zone franchisee in the 2010s cohort was $232,315.
- Who owns Wireless Zone?
- Wireless Zone is franchised by Wireless Zone LLC, according to the brand's FDD (2026).
Source
Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, 7(a) loan program charge-off data, FY2010–FY2019. Franchise data is matched on the SBA's franchise code / brand name. "Failure rate" here means the share of approved loans (resolved: paid in full or charged off) that were charged off; it is not a measure of unit closures. Last updated September 30, 2026.
Every brand in one table, with percentiles and breakdowns by year, industry and loan size: franchise SBA default rates, all 415 brands.
Cite this page
Franchise Default Rates (2026). Wireless Zone franchise SBA 7(a) default rate, FY2010–FY2019 cohort: 40.7% (11 of 27 loans charged off). Derived from U.S. SBA FOIA data, loan statuses as of June 30, 2026.
https://franchisefailurerates.com/franchise/wireless-zone/ · Data & methodology · Download the dataset (CSV)