After a 18-month long, sequestration from that essential tool of business, meeting face-to-face, the South Wireless Summit opens today with a bang, literally, at the Nashville Gun Club. In true Tennessee fashion, when the shooting ends, the country music begins…with some wireless infrastructure content in between, of course.
Steve Nicley, President and Chairperson of the Summit told Inside Towers they are expecting over 1,000 attendees and already have over 105 sponsors and exhibitors this year. “We are looking forward to seeing all of our friends and colleagues again,” Nicley said. “Monday we kick off with the clay shoot and WIA TEC Training at noon and open the Summit at the Sheraton Music City Hotel at 6 a.m. Monday is highlighted with a WWLF Panel and a Keynote from Todd Schlekeway-CEO of NATE. This will be followed by our first ever Music Movement South Concert,” he said, “with all proceeds going to the Music Movement Charity that takes care of people on the autism spectrum with music therapy.”
The proceeds from the South Wireless Summit go to fund College Scholarships, with the amount this year expected to exceed $800,000, according to Nicley.
Tuesday kicks off with breakfast followed by the Keynote from Ed Parkinson-CEO of FirstNet, followed by Jonathan Adelstein-CEO of WIA. After that comes a fixed rural broadband panel, a smart cities panel and a regulatory panel.
The balance of the day on Tuesday, the Summit will have a Top Golf Event and the Annual Social that evening at the brand-new Grand Hyatt Hotel on the 5th Floor.
NATE will offer 5G training on Wednesday to wrap up the Summit for 2021.
A roster of Monday’s events is as follows:
10 a.m.: Registration Opens
12:30 p.m.: Annual Clay Shoot
- Nashville Gun Club @ 1100 County Hospital Rd, Nashville, TN 37218
1:00 pm to 4:00 p.m.: WIA TEC:
- Unlocking the Full Potential of 5G, Private Networks, CBRS & Edge Computing
- Presented by Dr. Rikin Thakker
6:30 p.m. to 7:10 p.m.: WWLF Panel
- Moderator: Carrie Charles
- Amanda Cahill: National Director, Business Development at SQUAN & Co-Founder of Bold Women Society
- Carolyn Hardwick: President of Engineering at SQUAN
- Beth Martindale: Vice President of Engineering at SQUAN
- Ameila DeJesus: Vice President at Crown Castle
- Debra Mercier: Senior Enterprise Account Executive at Comcast Business
7:15 p.m.: Keynote Speaker
- Todd Schlekeway-CEO NATE
8:30 to 10:30 p.m.: Music Movement-South
- Under the Big Tent
- Jonathan Cilia Faro, Billy Dawson, Jeffrey Steele, Aaron Barker, Chris Wallin
By Jim Fryer, Inside Towers Managing Editor
Reader Interactions