WISPAMERICA_2021_Daily_2

Not to brag, but we’re kind of a big deal. Because billing is kind of a big deal. Improve your billing, improve your business. And the way to improve your billing software is to choose a provider who is flexible, responsive, and there for you all the way. Better billing. Better business. Because BillMax. Learn what better means at BillMax.com . You deserve better. Just because. WISPA BOOTH 514 Header... W hen lockdowns and shut- downs due to the pandemic brought many businesses and economic activity to a standstill, rural wireless internet service providers were often asked to move into hyperdrive. Never before had the perceived value of connectivity been higher, and many customers with no or inadequate internet access suddenly had a mission-critical need for truly high-speed broadband. In turn, WISPs were presented with unpar- alleled levels of new demand as well as requests to connect customers in the most challenging conditions. According to Matt Larsen, a founding member of the WISPA board and CEO of Vistabeam Internet, which serves parts of Wyoming, Nebraska, and Colorado, this demand in the early days of the pandemic led to “three years of network buildout in three months.” During a sit down with Larsen to discuss the “State of WISPA” at WISPAMERICA’s opening presenta- tions yesterday, WISPA president and CEO Claude Aiken concurred that several WISP members of the association had shared similar experi- ences to Vistabeam’s. That anecdotal evidence has been quantified by a new report that came out Monday from the Carmel Group. According to the report, which is an update to a similar report released in 2017, subscribers on WISPs’ networks reached an estimated 6.9 million by the end of the 2020. That’s up from (Continued on page 6) Report Shows WISP Revenues Reached $4.4 Billion in 2020 16 The 2021 Fixed-Wireless and Hybrid ISP Industry Report, The Carmel Group. Copyright 2021, All Rights Reserved. Any unauthorized distribution or use is strictly prohibited. Source: The Carmel Group U.S. Fixed-Wireless and Hybrid ISP Subscriber Growth, 2012-2025 0.00 3.00 6.00 9.00 7.50 4.50 12.00 13.50 10.50 1.50 MILLIONS OF SUBSCRIBERS 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 E 2021 E Users double every five years. 2022 E 2023 E 2024 E 2025 E 3.5 3.1 2.7 2.3 4.0 4.7 5.3 5.9 6.9 7.8 8.8 10 11.3 12.7 DAY 2