Matt Mandel has joined the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association (WISPA) – Broadband Without Boundaries as Vice President of Government Affairs. In this capacity, Mandel will oversee WISPA’s congressional and executive branch advocacy, as well as the association’s expanded state-based portfolio. WISPA’s approximately 1,000 members provide fixed broadband connectivity, and include equipment suppliers, support services, and other industry partners and stakeholders.
Mandel comes to WISPA with years of telecommunications policy, legislative and advocacy experience. Prior to joining WISPA, Mandel spent more than seven years at WIA as Senior Vice President of Government and Public Affairs, where he oversaw WIA’s advocacy agenda and external communications. Before WIA, Mandel was Vice President of Government Affairs at the communications consultancy, the Glover Park Group.
Mandel began his career on Capitol Hill, spending 10 years as a legislative aide to several members of Congress, including nearly seven years as Legislative Director for a senior member of the Energy and Commerce Committee. Mandel graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in Government and Politics, and has earned a Master’s Degree in Political Science from American University.
“The industry WISPA serves plays a vital role in providing reliable broadband to nine million Americans in rural, under-resourced and Tribal parts of the country,” said WISPA President/CEO David Zumwalt. “WISPs have always been at the forefront of closing the digital divide and are constituents of the communities in which they operate. Matt’s work will be integral to bringing their experiences and core values to policymakers at the federal and state levels, and fostering the continued growth and viability of the industry and the hard-to-reach localities they serve.”
“Broadband represents a lifeline for all Americans, something we each must have in order to thrive,” stated Mandel. “WISPs deliver evolutionary, cost-effective connectivity to areas that have been ignored, underserved or simply left behind. Their work realizes on a daily basis the essential national policy prerogative of getting all Americans online.”
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