6 WISPAPALOOZA SHOW I OCTOBER 9 – 12, 2023 www.bekabusinessmedia.com DAY 2 L Z OO 2023 Sometimes when a major issue clouds your horizon, other matters get lost in the shade, but not at WISPA. While the BEAD program may have garnered the most attention of WISPs and states everywhere, the organization’s staff remains focused on its advocacy for a host of other issues. For example, affordable access to radio magnetic spectrum is vital to the success and growth of a fixed wireless broadband service provider, said Mike Wendy, WISPA Director of Communications. “The vast majority of WISPA’s broadband ISP members depend upon and provide services utilizing multiple spectral bands,” he explained. Because of this WISPA advocates before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to ensure they understand the importance of balanced approaches to allocating spectrum for commercial use. “By balanced approaches, we mean that the FCC, which has statutory authority to allocate spectrum for commercial use, should not just allocate spectrum via expensive spectrum auctions that require companies to spend millions, and in some cases, billions of dollars to acquire spectrum,” Wendy explained. “NTIA has statutory authority to manage spectrum allocated to federal agencies. So, often, the FCC has to ask NTIA to repurpose some federal agency for commercial use.” He applauded the FCC for a “commendable job of allocating some spectrum for commercial use since 2013. This includes unlicensed 5.9 GHz, 6 GHz and 57-71 GHz bands and licensed-by-rule CBRS. In October 2022, the Coalition for Coordinated Sharing – which includes WISPA, Cambium Networks, Open Technology Institute at New America and Public Knowledge – filed a “Petition for Rulemaking” asking the FCC to develop rules to open the 10–10.5 GHz band for nationwide licensed point-to-point use on a shared basis with incumbents. The Coalition proposed new Part 101 rules to permit up to 500 megahertz of spectrum in the band be licensed on a non-exclusive basis for non-federal, point-to-point or backhaul communications governed by an FCC-approved automated frequency coordination (“AFC”) system. Last December, WISPA filed a WISPA-coordinated letter with 242 WISPs supporting the Coordinated Sharing Coalition’s 10 GHz Petition for Rulemaking, but as WISPAPALOOZA 2023 began, the FCC has not acted. Another issue of importance as WISPAPALOOZA 2023 takes place is the languishing 2023 Farm Bill, which awaits congressional action. Wendy explained the bill recognizes how essential it is to connect America’s rural farms with broadband, and leverages U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) resources to expand that access for universal, “last acre” coverage. The LAST ACRE Act – a separate bill – takes a comprehensive view at what is needed to boost farmland connectivity and creates a techflexible program for the USDA to build more access for American farmers, Wendy explained. However, he does not expect it to pass during this congressional year. “What is more likely is if the bill’s core ideas get employed in the Farm Bill, which must pass this year,” he said. Because the Farm Bill contains important broadband programs, WIPSA’s President and CEO David Zumwalt testified before the House Agriculture Committee on ways to improve USDA broadband programs. Zumwalt told the committee that technology neutrality is crucial to the success of the program, and the USDA needs to have the flexibility to fund projects that meet the specific needs of different communities. Wendy said, 2024 could be an “interesting year,” because billions of dollars in BEAD money will begin entering the market, which could re-ignite some issues that affect the economy including supply chain and inflation. “The bottom line: Companies are going to have to remain nimble – something WISPs know how to do well,” Wendy concluded. m Baicells has appointed Gerry Ford as its Vice President of Sales. Ford joins Baicells from DoubleRadius, a global value-added reseller of wireless networking infrastructure, where he was the President and Chief Operating Officer. At Baicells, Ford will help define strategic programs to drive growth, lead and grow the U.S. sales team, and build out the partner program, as Baicells expands its business practice to serve other market segments like the enterprise and alternative service providers. Ford’s experience and expertise in leading the operational disciplines of larger, high-tech organizations, aligns well as Baicells scales its organization to deliver an expanding product portfolio, enter new markets and manage an evolving partner ecosystem. Baicells is a global provider of turnkey 4G and 5G wireless networking solutions serving WISPs, mobile operators, and enterprises across more than 60 countries. m Baicells welcomes attendees to come to booth 349 this week to meet Ford and to check out new and innovative product offerings in the 5G and the fiber spaces. Learn more at www.baicells.com By Bruce Christian Baicells Welcomes Sales Executive WISPA Advocating Targets on Several Fronts Communications Data Group (CDG) has completed an enhanced integration between CDG’s MBS consumer and enterprise billing and OSS solution and CheckPoint Solutions, which now supports customer self-scheduling during the sign-up process. CheckPoint obtains real-time installation openings from the MBS installation calendar, and customers can choose their install date/time. Touchless scheduling allows customers to sign up for service quickly without speaking to a customer service representative, benefiting customers and service providers. One MBS client had almost 1,000 new customer signups from Checkpoint in 30 days after launching the integration. “This enhanced integration is a perfect example of an empowerment tool,” said Jacob Terstriep, director of Operations at CheckPoint Solutions. “Scheduling is a problem all providers face and with this integration we can streamline the entire process. A 100 percent hands off approach makes things easier for the customer and more efficient for internal departments.” According to CDG’s CTO, Tony Stout, “Providers can realize bigger ROIs when their various service-related systems communicate with each other. Individual solutions can help streamline siloed processes, but connected solutions can remap processes across a business’s entire OSS/BSS ecosystem.” m For more information, visit CDG at K901. CDG Enhances MBS Billing, OSS Integration
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