I've used a Wilson repeater setup before, admittedly many many years ago, but think about it. You need a somewhat decent signal outside your house to begin with. Then you need to capture that weak signal (if it was strong, you wouldn't need it in the first place, right?), then the system passes that amplified signal to your device through an antenna that you place somewhere inside. Then the signal from your device is amplified and transmitted to the distant cell tower. Setting these repeater systems up is a little tricky. You need to somewhat isolate the outside antenna and the inside antenna from each other, or the system won't work very well.
IMO, the network extenders are much better because it is working over a broadband internet connection for a clean/reliable signal. With a network extender like the one Verizon sells, you can have essentially zero cell signal, and the NE will give you a strong, clean signal in your home/appartment. It's like you are moving the cell tower inside your home. As for data, use wifi on the same broadband connection your NE is setup on.