Wireless Internet Service Providers Association

05/18/2026

Another important BEAD-related shoutout to WISPA member Nextlink and ConnectLA, which delivered the nation's first BEAD-funded tower activation in Louisiana on May 13, 2026, four years to the day after the BEAD program was first launched by NTIA. Fixed wireless answered the call and brought the future first! Congratulations!

Bossier Parish service lights up under the Trump Administration’s “Benefit of the Bargain” reforms — turning a four-year federal program into live broadband

05/18/2026

WISPA member Matt Larsen and his Vistabeam team made history on Thursday, May 14, with the nation's very first BEAD-funded customer connection in Ogallala, Nebraska. Proud to join with NTIA, the NE Governor and NE Broadband Office, along with colleagues from Tarana and WAV, celebrating a massive 11-mile 800+/200+ mbps fixed wireless link. The future demands all technologies, but fixed wireless was the first to bring the future!

05/18/2026

One of my biggest treats is to meet WISPA members in their communities. I just completed a listening tour covering portions of Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana, centered on the annual Midwest Broadband Operators Conference in Indianapolis. This is my fourth road trip in two years, and if we didn't cross paths this time I look forward to doing so soon!

04/15/2026

Here's the full post from the NTIA's webinar on the benefits of fixed wireless broadband >

https://broadbandusa.ntia.gov/events/latest-events/spectrum-service-building-unlicensed-fixed-wireless.

04/15/2026

WISPA represented here in this important NTIA discussion >

At NTIA forum, panelists say fixed wireless is cheaper and faster to install, reducing opportunity costs for underserved areas.

04/13/2026

Great work by Lou Elliot and Streamline Internet for bringing new broadband services via fixed wireless to residents in rural Port LaBelle, FL.

Families in Port LaBelle say they were promised internet and cable when they built their homes, but years later, they're still waiting.

03/14/2026

Contact WISPA's Steven Schwerbel if you'd like to get involved in your state: [email protected].

03/10/2026

"SpaceX's plan to build space-based data centers comprising up to 1 million low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites leaves a lot of unanswered questions. Among them: the potential for interference with adjacent channels and how such interference might be addressed if it happens.

"Those were among the issues raised by WISPA – The Association for Broadband Without Boundaries in comments filed March 6 with the FCC."

WISPA is asking the FCC to further assess potential interference issues presented by SpaceX's orbital data center proposal.

03/06/2026

US Senators Deb Fischer and Ben Ray Lujan sent a letter to all 3 FCC commissioners today, asking them to preserve the current rules, power levels, and frameworks governing CBRS. The letter specifically calls out CBRS usage by rural wireless providers.

Below is a statement from Matt Mandel, WISPA VP of Government Affairs:

Washington, DC, March 6, 2026 - WISPA strongly supports the call from Senators Deb Fischer (R-NE) and Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) urging the Federal Communications Commission to preserve the current regulatory framework for the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS). By urging the FCC to maintain the stability of the CBRS band, they are protecting the investments of community-based providers. CBRS is a success story: It delivers affordable broadband, fosters innovation, and supports rural America. Altering its core framework would disconnect millions, waste billions, derail BEAD timelines, and reverse competitive gains. Power levels currently authorized for CBRS have spurred investment in rural broadband deployment and other industries. Increasing power would cause interference and disrupt service, and potentially costly equipment replacements.

Fischer/Lujan CBRS Letter:
https://host8.viethwebhosting.com/~wisp/docs/Lujan-Fischer_CBRS_Letter_to_FCC_03.06.2695.pdf

03/05/2026

Thanks for a great show!