"Awards A Plenty" At WISPAPALOOZA
One of the highlights of the 2011 WISPAPALOOZA conference in Las Vegas was the Annual Awards Banquet. Over 400 people attended this banquet which featured a delicious prime rib dinner. The attendees were graced with Phil Bolt, the CEO of the new <http://www.cambiumnetworks.com/> Cambium Networks, which recently purchased the fixed wireless segment of <http://www.motorolasolutions.com/US-EN/Home> Motorola Solutions. Mr. Bolt was the keynote speaker and expressed his excitement for the industry, the new venture and the exciting new products that are in the pipeline. This year <http://www.wispa.org/> WISPA recognized Operators, Manufacturers, Distributors and long time volunteer supporters of WISPA. The 2011 "Operator of the Year" plaque was presented to Josh Garza, CEO of <http://www.gaw.com/> GAW High-Speed Internet, based in Connecticut. "This is an important milestone, and accolade for the GAW team," stated Mr. Garza. "To be honored by one's peers speaks to a commitment and drive to be the best internet provider in the New England market. It has been hard work and perseverance to become the best in our industry, community and for the customers we serve." The road to success for Josh Garza started in his family garage with a successful computer business that he sold at age 18. He used that income to fund a dream he had of serving customers who had poor to no broadband Internet options, and for those who wanted a more personal choice than the giant Internet companies. Today GAW is a strong and vibrant company that serves New England with Internet, Voice, and TV products and services. For the second year in a row, <http://www.ubnt.com/> Ubiquiti Networks was awarded "Manufacturer of the Year". Selected from a poll taken of WISPA members, Ubiquiti Networks was selected once again for their popular product line and new innovative products. Ubiquiti Networks is a next-generation communications technology company founded in 2005. Ubiquiti designs and manufactures disruptive technology platforms for emerging markets that drive profitable business models and enable ubiquitous connectivity. Their technology platforms such as AirMax, UniFi, and AirVision, focus on unparalleled user experience combined with Industry leading performance at disruptive cost points. Ben Moore of Ubiquiti stated, "We are honored to have been voted as WISP Manufacturer of the year for the second year in a row. We appreciate the continued support from our customers and recognize the need to continue to provide our customers with industry leading products at prices that allow them to grow their businesses quickly. We also appreciate the many great things the WISPA organization is doing for the community and look forward to continuing to support WISPA in their efforts." The <http://www.purewavenetworks.com/> Purewave 6000 series platform was selected as the "Product of the Year" by WISP Operators across the nation. "PureWave is proud and pleased to accept this prestigious award," said Don Meiners, PureWave's CEO. "Our PureWave Quantum product line has been building a strong following in the WISP community, based on its unmatched NLOS performance. We know that WISPs are always trying to go farther, and reach one more remote customer. PureWave Quantum base stations are ideal for those types of applications, and this award shows that our customers appreciate what we have done. Stay tuned for some more exciting products that we will be announcing in the coming months." Jay Fuller, of <http://www.cyberbroadband.net/> Cyber Broadband in Cullman, Alabama and Marlon Williamson, of <http://www.boonlink.com/main.php> Boonlink Communications, in Fort Payne, Alabama, were both selected as co-recipients of the Triumph Award. Jay experienced devastating damage from the Cullman tornado, which destroyed his main tower location in Cullman. Using his mobile phone and Facebook, he was able to communicate with his WISP peers across the nation, who answered his call with equipment he needed to restore services to his customers as quickly as possible. Marlon, lost his entire house during the same series of tornados which tore through a large portion of Alabama in a two day rampage on April 27, 2011. Thankfully, no one was hurt in either the Fuller or Williamson families. These operators have endured great hardship in 2011 and have triumphed through the hardship. "Boonlink is a company formed in 2007 to meet the demand for quality broadband Internet service to rural communities. Boonlink provides affordable, reliable, secure, warp-speed Internet and Internet phone service to families and businesses who demand quality broadband Internet access. In many areas, we go where cable and DSL carriers will not venture due to ROI constraints." "Regarding the Triumph award, I want to say thank you for the honor and the support over the past 6 months. Most of you know that I was personally effected by the infamous day of tornado's that struck our state on April 27, 2011. My home was directly in the path of one of the largest tornado's that came through our state that day. We lost everything we owned; our home, vehicles, and personal possessions. Miraculously, not one of our tower sites was damaged, even though the storm came within a mile of at least 6-8 of our sites." "We were especially thankful that no physical harm came to us as we were hunkered down in the middle hallway of our house when the storm passed through. Not everyone was as blessed and fortunate as we were." "We have made much progress in rebuilding and hope to be in new home before Christmas! It has been a long process; and one that has forever changed our perspective on life and what really matters the most." <http://www.streakwave.com/index.asp> Streakwave was selected as the "Distributor of the Year" is a global value added distributor with sales and <http://www.streakwave.com/distribution.asp> distribution facilities in: San Jose, CA (headquarters); Salt Lake City, UT; Cincinnati, OH; and, Curitiba - Parana, Brazil. Streakwave offers complete lines of wireless broadband networking equipment, two-way communications, telecommunications solutions, IP surveillance/security and green technologies from top-tier manufacturers Richard Bernhardt of Streakwave made the following comment, "Receiving the "Distributor of the Year" award from WISPA is a great honor. Streakwave is proud to play an active part in the WISP industry and looks forward to continuing our strong relationship with WISPA and its members. Our goal is and continues to be serving our clients at the highest standards." A new award this year is called the "Synergetic Award". It is designed specifically for smaller companies who develop products that enhance the WISP industry businesses, either from equipment infrastructure suppliment, back-end software solutions or consulting assistance. This year's award was presented to <http://www.ippay.com/> IPPay. Charles Wu of <http://www.cticonnect.com/> CTIConnect, parent company of IPPay, states, "When we launched IP Pay back in 2008 at ISPCON, we had the intention of giving independent service providers a new means to save and make money on existing and new business operations. In the last 3 years, the response we have received from the industry has been overwhelming, and we are honored to be acknowledged with the Synergetic Award. Having saved hundreds of thousands of dollars in processing fees over the past 3 years, our partners are now looking to grow their revenues by incorporating payments as an offering over their existing wireless networks. We look forward in working together with the WISPA membership to mutually grow our respective businesses for years to come." Often deemed the most prestigious award given each year by WISPA is the "Visionary of the Year" award. This year's recipient was John Scrivner. John was a founding Board Member of WISPA, who lead the WISPA through the early days from 2004 through 2006. It was John's leadership and vision to produce a trade association for our industry, which is owned and managed by the members that brought WISPA to where it is today. WISPA now touts over 650 members from around the world and is recognized by the FCC and Congress, as a very important trade association which supports ubiquitous broadband coverage and works very hard for its members, many of which serve rural areas of the country where broadband options are few. John operates a WISP business in Mount Vernon, Illinois area called <http://www.mvn.net/> MVN.Net A new tradition was also started at WISPAPALOOZA this year. The first annual "Knights of the Black Tie" were presented black ties or black scarfs (for the ladies) in a knighting ceremony lead by Executive Director, Rick Harnish. This award presentation was made with Harnish telling the history of the award, which was adopted from the Mid-America Food Processor's Association. MAFPA annually awards the "Knights of the Red Tie" to members of that industry who always "Do More, Instead of Less". Harnish was a recipient of the Red Tie in 1986 and has always strived to carry on that legacy. He recognized early on, the WISP industry is made up of people who also "Do More, Instead of Less". These people work long hours in terrible weather to make sure their local communities are served with broadband. This year's 29 recipients were selected from a group of 80 volunteers who have worked on past or the current Board of Directors, committees or have been long time supporters of WISPA since it's inception. The recipients are: Steve Barnes, <http://www.rcwifi.com/> RC-Wifi; Richard Bernhardt, <http://www.streakwave.com/> Streakwave; Elizabeth Bowles, <http://www.aristotle.net/> Aristotle, Inc.; Jeff Broadwick, <http://www.imagestream.com/> Imagestream; Dennis Burgess, <http://www.linktechs.net/> Link Technologies, Inc.; Forrest Christian, <http://packetflux.com/> Packetflux Technologies, Inc.; Steve Coran, <http://www.rinicoran.com/> Rini Coran PC; Mac Dearman, <http://www.inetsouth.com/> Maximum Access; Tom DeReggi, <http://www.rapiddsl.com/> Rapid DSL and Wireless; Forbes Mercy, <http://wabroadband.com/> Washington Broadband; Josh Garza, <http://www.gaw.com/> GAW High-Speed Internet; Dave Giles, <http://www.invisimax.com/> Invisimax; Chuck Hogg, <http://www.shelbybb.com/> Shelby Broadband; Martha Huizenga, <http://dcaccess.net/> DC Access, LLC; Travis Johnson, <http://www.ida.net/> Microserv True Broadband ; Matt Larsen, <http://www.vistabeam.com/> Vistabeam; Jonathan McLean, <http://www.rsiprograms.com/> Risk Strategies, LLC; Kelley McNeill, <http://www.comspeco.net/> Communication Specialist Co. of Wilmington, LLC; Alex Phillips, <http://highspeedlink.net/> HighSpeedLink.Net; Victoria Proffer, <http://stlbroadband.com/> St. Louis Broadband; Eden Recor, <http://www.rkymtnhi.com/> Grand County Internet Services; Marlon Schafer, <http://odessaoffice.com/wireless/> Odessa Office Equipment; Larry Schriver, <http://countryconnections.net/> Country Connections, LLC; John Scrivner, <http://www.mvn.net/> Mount Vernon.Net; Nathan Stooke, <http://www.wisperisp.com/> WisperISP; Jack Unger, <http://www.ask-wi.com/> Ask-Wi.com; J.C. Utter, <http://www.imagestream.com/> Imagestream; Brian Webster, <http://wirelessmapping.com/> Wireless Mapping.com; Joel White, <http://nexgenaccess.com/> NexGenAccess, Inc. WISPAPALOOZA was attended by 700 WISPs, Investors, Manufacturers, Distributors, Consultants and other interested parties. The exhibition hall featured 60 exhibitors. This year's event also was host for Ubiquiti AirMax, Cambium Networks Service Provider Town Hall, Mikrotik MUM, FISPAlive and various other corporate hosted receptions and training events. Make your plans now to attend WISPAPALOOZA, The Second Coming! slated for the third week in March in Orlando. More details as they become available. Respectfully, Rick Harnish Executive Director WISPA 260-307-4000 cell 866-317-2851 Option 2 WISPA Office Skype: rick.harnish. [email protected]
_______________________________________________ Announcements mailing list [email protected] http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/announcements
