WISPAPALOOZA 2011 Conference in Las Vegas Showcases Exciting Developments for Solving US Rural Broadband Internet Access

The WISPAPALOOZA 2011 Conference has brought more than 700 attendees to Las Vegas to exchange views on providing Broadband Internet Access in rural markets of the US. Wireless Internet Service Providers -- WISPs, are entrepreneurs that build wireless infrastructure, typically with private funding, to provide Broadband Internet Access in areas that are overlooked or underserved by incumbent telecommunications companies, even though such companies receive lucrative government subsidies. "I've seen far more investors and venture capitalists attending WISPAPALOOZA 2011 than at any time since the Internet boom in the late 1990s," said Rick Harnish, Executive Director of WISPA. "There is a lot of excitement in the wireless industry over the pending Initial Public Offering of Ubiquiti Networks, one of the major equipment vendors to the WISP industry. We're very pleased that Ubiquiti and newly formed Cambium Networks, along with a number of other companies, have chosen to offer in-depth training about their new products in conjunction with WISPAPALOOZA 2011." The opening keynote at WISPAPALOOZA 2011 was given by nationally-known broadband analyst and advocate Craig Settles who offered insights into how WISPs can partner with other organizations such as credit unions to achieve faster deployments in rural areas. "You WISPs are an excellent example of being able to adapt and perform. You are incredibly agile in changing your businesses to meet changing market conditions -- much faster than the traditional telecom companies," noted Settles. WISPAPALOOZA continues through Wednesday, October 12 with multiple education tracks, a sold-out exhibit hall, and many special events such as the annual WISPA Awards Banquet. Additional vendor-specific training and conferences will be held on Thursday, October 13. All WISPAPALOOZA 2011 events are being held at the Flamingo Hotel on the famed Las Vegas strip. Harnish concluded, "We know that the money folks are here looking us over as perhaps being the next big boom, and with all these very successful WISPs sharing their stories, having the interesting problem of not being able to hire enough good people, and many of them making very sizable investments in turning over their entire network every three years to meet growing demand... we think this is a story that is as big, if not bigger, than the cellular industry."