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wispa.org
WISPAPALOOZA 2016
•
OCTOBER 11-13, 2016
1
DAY
2
OCTOBER 11-13, 2016
LAS VEGAS
State of WISPA: Making Big Strides, Eyeing the Future
By Tara Seals
K
icking off the first day of WISPAPALOOZA
2016, Alex Phillips, WISPA president, took to
the stage to discuss the “State of WISPA.”
This year’s show has attracted 1,500+
attendees—a record—from 48 states and 26
different countries. And for the year, WISPA itself
has 109 newmembers, 37 new vendors. This
paves the road for further success and progress
for the months ahead, Phillips noted.
Going forward, goals include growing
membership and engagement, and
strengthening theWISP industry presence in DC.
“When it comes to writing rules for the
telecom industry, we’re competing against larger
organizations and industries with deep pockets
and decades of experience in the corridors of
power,”Phillips said. “We are punching above our
weight class and are making progress. 2016 was a
year of success on the advocacy front.”
The group is alsomaking progress on Capitol
Hill, he noted. WISPA is a strong backer of the Small
Business Broadband Deployment Act, which is
meant to ensure that small business providers
of broadband Internet access service can devote
resources to broadband deployment rather
than compliance with cumbersome regulatory
requirements. And, WISPA won a five-year
exemption for small businesses from the Open
Internet Order in a piece of legislation that passed
the House and is moving through the Senate.
“Lawmakers reduced the exemption from
five to three years in the Senate version—but
our legislative team is devoted to brokering a
compromise,”Phillips said.
See STATE OF WISPA, page 6
Alex Phillips says WISPA’s ‘not gonna take it’ when it
comes to regulatory issues.
SHOWDAILY