WISPAPALOOZA 2019 Show Daily Day 2

W ISPA members now have access to an assortment of perks and special discounts that will save them money on everything from a pizza dinner to a family trip to the zoo. The association has signed on with Abenity, which helps companies, affinity groups and associations add value to their member benefits with a variety of private perks and discount programs. Through the arrangement with Abenity, WISPA members can access private coupons on thousands of goods and services, special movie showtimes and tickets, discounts on health and wellness services, monthly giveaways and more. The Abenity savings network includes discounts on hotels, rental cars, amusement parks, concerts, restau- rants, gym memberships, pharmacies, florists and more. All in all, WISPA members will have access to up to $4,500 in savings and more than 300,000 discounts across the U.S. and Canada. Unlike some perks programs that utilize complex point schemes and hidden ticketing fees, Abenity offers transparent pricing and access to its discounts from an app on your mobile phones or any other connected device. The platform also serves up local offers or discounts in places where members might be travelling. WISPA members can head to wispa.abenity.com to learn more about the perks program and sign up to take part. m 4 WISPA PALOOZA SHOW I OCTOBER 14 - 18, 2019 www.bekabusinessmedia.com L Z OO 2019 COMMENT Lorem Ipsum Dolor Sit Amet 02 DAY 03 D DAY 01 DAY 2 WISPA Announces Members’ Perks Program no mistake, it is scarce. But with the advent of CBRS and its dynamic spectrum sharing tech- nology, new possibilities for new sources of spectrum have emerged. This has WISPs more excited than ever for the future.  “WISPs are getting Americans online in record numbers,” said Aiken on Monday. “Policymakers and the marketplace are taking notice, awakening to the possibility that through WISPs, bridging the digital divide could be achieved more quickly and cost-effectively than with the traditional players. The WISP model of broadband deploy- ment is undeniably potent and effective.”    In terms of show news, Aiken announced that the political action committee (PAC) supporting WISPs’ efforts is now part of the association. Formerly known as WISPPAC, the new organi- zation is named WISPAPAC, and Aiken believes this better positions the PAC to achieve its mission of supporting the Members of Congress who defend our business interests in Wash- ington; giving WISPs opportunities to educate Members of Congress on our industry; and countering the messages delivered by PACs contrary well-funded interests. Efforts are just underway to integrate the PAC into WISPA, and a new website (wispapac.org ) will be unveiled soon, said Aiken. In other news, Trina Coffey, WISPA vice presi- dent of events and operations, announced that WISPAPALOOZA is officially saying goodbye to the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino, which has hosted the past several events. Rumors are the Rio is being torn down in order to build a base- ball stadium, so in 2020, WISPAPALOOZA will be moving to the Caesers Forum Conference Center, a brand new 550,000 sq. ft. facility with direct access to more than 8,500 hotel rooms at Harrah’s Las Vegas, the LINQ Hotel + Experi- ence and Flamingo Hotels. Coffey also announced the launch of a new perks program for WISPA members, created in conjunction with Abenity (see below for details). Meanwhile, Stooke made a call to WISP members to consider running as candidates for the WISPA Board of Directors and/or becoming part of an agenda committee that helps develop events. In the past, WISPA has leaned pretty heavily on its board members, noted Stooke, but with Aiken joining the association last year as its first president and CEO, and subsequently handling day-to-day operations, the board is able to serve in the more traditional, advisory role. Agenda committee members, for their part, are largely charged with creating the educational sessions that take place at every WISPA event. Those interested should contact committee co-chairpersons Coffey (tcoffey@wispa.org ) or Stooke (nstookes@wisperisp.com) . m WISPAPALOOZA Continues to Grow 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Sponsors 20 23 36 43 34 Exhibitors 106 122 129 163 201 Speakers 130 128 131 146 183+ Sessions 60 66 91 97 97 Attendees 1,383 1,658 1,889 2,137 2,204+ Sonar Partners with Microsoft Sonar Software has part- nered with Microsoft on its Airband project, an initia- tive that Microsoft started to bring Internet access to 2 million unserved people in North America. Sonar is the only billing/OSS platform to be an official Airband partner. Visit Sonar Software at WISPAPALOOZA 2019 booth #706. (Continued from page 1)