WISPAPALOOZA Show Daily Day 2

6 WISPA PALOOZA SHOW I OCTOBER 8 - 12, 2018 www.bekabusinessmedia.com DAY 2 L Z OO 2018 “T his is huge,” said Nathan Stooke, WISPA chairman of the board and CEO of Wisper ISP, as he looked around the room at Tuesday morning’s breakfast. Stooke could have been talking about the generous welcome breakfast that WISPA provided its guest at WISPAPALOOZA 2018, but he was likely talking about the healthy attendance in the large Amazon Ballroom here at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino, as well as the growth and enthusiasm of the overall WISP industry that the crowd represented. When Stooke asked folks who were new to WISPAPALOOZA to stand, more than a hundred to close to 20 percent of the room took to their feet. Indeed, the growth numbers Stooke presented were quite impressive. In 2015, for instance, WISPAPALOOZA hosted 106 exhibitors, 20 sponsors and 1,383 attendees, said Stooke. For WISPAPALOOZA 2018, the event included 163 exhibitors, 43 spon- sors and, as of breakfast on Tuesday, more than 2,100 attendees registered. What’s more, WISPAPALOOZA 2018 welcomed attendees and exhibitors from 30 countries around the globe and from practically every state in the U.S. (What’s up Rhode Island?) Even so, WISPA membership only includes about 25 percent to 30 percent of all the rural WISPs and WISP service providers in North America, so there is still room for tremendous growth. So Stooke called on members to help spread the word about the association and its events, and the value of stepping away from the day-to-day grind of running a business to meet and interact with peers and find ways to run those businesses, and their communities, better. That’s not to say any efforts and work already done up to this point is unappreci- ated. Stooke also asked attendees to take a step back and take pride and pleasure in what the industry has accomplished and the “amazing journey” it has made from the days of building radios in garages. “Look at the news reports. It used to be all we’d hear about is Google Fiber and AT&T Fiber, but Google and everyone else wants to be in fixed wireless now,” said Stooke. “We are an overnight success story 20 years in the making.” “So I just encourage you to step back and say ‘wow.’ Look at what we are doing, where we have been and realize this is an amazing thing,” he continued, “and that you guys are the foundation of what is happening.” m Stooke Welcomes and Encourages WISPAPALOOZA Attendees WISPAPALOOZA Numbers over the Years 2015 2016 2017 2018 Sponsors 20 23 36 43 Exhibitors 106 122 129 163 Speakers 130 128 131 146 Sessions 60 66 91 97 Attendees 1,383 1,658 1,889 2,137 WIPSA COB Nathan Stooke at Tuesday’s Welcome Breakfast Claude Aiken President & CEO 866-317-2851 ext 101 caiken@wispa.org Trina Coffey Vice President of Events & Operations 260-622-5775 866-317-2851 ext 102 tcoffey@wispa.org Arielle Coffey Events & Member Relations Associate 260-622-5773 866-317-2851 ext 100 arielle@wispa.org Gary Helmers Sales/Membership Coordinator 260-622-5774 866-317-2851 ext 103 ghelmers@wispa.org Will Peterson Marketing Associate 260-622-5772 866-317-2851 ext 104 wpeterson@wispa.org Richard Bernhardt National Spectrum Adviser 260-622-5627 866-317-2851 ext 105 rbernhardt@wispa.org Martin Vilaboy Editor-in-Chief martin@bekabusinessmedia.com Percy Zamora Art Director percy@bekabusinessmedia.com Berge Kaprelian Group Publisher berge@bekabusinessmedia.com Rene Galan Associate Publisher rene@bekabusinessmedia.com Anthony Graffeo Associate Publisher anthony@bekabusinessmedia.com Gerald Baldino CV TV Interviewer gerald@bekabusinessmedia.com Matt O’Brien CV TV Multimedia Specialist matt@bekabusinessmedia.com