WIA CEO Leads the Charge at Connect (X)

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WIA President/CEO Patrick Halley opened up yesterday’s Connect (X) sessions and exhibitions with a welcome speech to assembled attendees. Joining Halley on the stage with welcoming remarks was Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens. 

Halley called Atlanta, “a hub of telecom activity and connectivity,” comparing it to the conference which serves to bring the wireless infrastructure industry together. The theme of the show, as in past events, was Connectivity Everywhere.  

“The reality is, it doesn’t happen by accident or thanks to a magic 5G wand – it’s the hard work, investment and innovation by you,” he said addressing the audience. “You are the ones that make it possible.”  

Halley cited a recent trip in the field to Hanover, IN where he spent the day with a crew building a new tower for WIA member TowerCo. He met a crane operator named James and a tower climber named Jackson. The tower techs impressed Halley with how well they worked with safety and skill in assembling a 200-foot monopole. 

“This is complicated work that requires well-trained and skilled workers, like James and Jackson, to do it right,” Halley said. “That tower will improve the lives of folks in Hanover by providing them with seamless connectivity. While we were there, a truck actually stopped and asked us which carrier was going up on the tower, and the father and son we spoke with were genuinely excited about better service on the horizon.”

But the wireless success story isn’t just about mobility, Halley pointed out. He said it’s also about connecting people in the home with a connection that is increasingly being provided over a high-speed fixed wireless link.

With nearly 100 million homes having access to 5G home broadband, almost 10 million subscribers are signed up, according to WIA estimates. “Some people doubted the benefits and reach of 5G fixed wireless home broadband service,” Halley said.”I’m here to tell you that the fixed wireless story you’ve been hearing about is real. It’s real when it’s being talked about in not one, but two, Super Bowl commercials. It’s real when 100 percent of net broadband additions in 2023 were fixed wireless broadband connections.” 

“And we’re still going strong in 2024,” Halley continued. “It’s real when 5G fixed wireless service has the highest customer satisfaction of all home broadband technologies, beating fiber and cable broadband. Fixed wireless broadband access enabled by the infrastructure built by the companies in this room – is supercharging competition in the home and small business broadband marketplace.”

Halley did not spare opponents to wireless infrastructure buildouts, saying they are  “fighting against your interests who want to make it harder to build and upgrade wireless infrastructure. It’s our job as an association to fight back. We’re your eyes, ears and voice in Washington and every state in America. From coast to coast – with boots on the ground in over half the states – we’re educating legislators and preventing anti-wireless measures from taking root.”

By Jim Fryer, Inside Towers Managing Editor

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