We all embark on these little sojourns a few times a year. Pack the bag, kiss the loved one(s), give the dog’s butt a final scratch and we’re off. Don’t forget to tip your Uber driver. Today the destination for many of us is Charlotte, home of NASCAR, the Billy Graham Parkway and Bank of America and temporary home of the tower industry as we gather for WIA’s Connectivity Expo, or, more fondly, Connect (X) at the Convention Center.
Not only are we entering a bright and growing region full of promise but we will be seeing a new look to the tower market as well that matches the energy of this southern belle of a city. Yes, macro sites are still relevant and will get their due as topics of discussion, but it has taken a conscious effort by WIA to move the spotlight on both their association and their show, to what the tower industry has wrought.
They ‘slugged’ it with a perfect slogan: “Where Infrastructure Meets Everything.” At a stock car-like speed, our industry is moving forward in small cell technology (we’re talkin’ smart POLES now), with new equipment that will warp us through 4G, then on to 5G (ultra dense 5G, no less), IoT, CBRS, deep fiber in LTE. In short, this isn’t your grampa’s tower market anymore. As much as it is anchored, literally bolted, to the past, it is the backbone and catalyst for the future of connectivity.
Hey, is that Richard Petty?
By Jim Fryer, Managing Editor, Inside Towers
May 21, 2018
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