Your Guide to WISPAMERICA 2020
WISPAMERICA 2020 is coming, full-speed ahead, to Dallas, Texas! Beginning on March 16th, internet service providers, industry experts, consultants, and vendors will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in all things fixed wireless at the Sheraton Dallas Hotel. The Preseem team will once again be in attendance, showcasing our QoE monitoring and optimization platform at booth 524!
More than 60 sessions are scheduled over the course of four days. Topics range from how WISPs can expand into fiber networking, to the importance of maintaining a consumer-centric approach to business. Attendees will have ample opportunity to engage with fellow WISPs and learn about ways to improve their businesses. With so much happening in such a short amount of time, prioritization is essential! That’s why we’ve compiled a list of five must-attend sessions to help guide you as you plan your visit to WISPAMERICA.
Please be aware that this list is by no means comprehensive. As such, you will still have more than enough time to sit in on many other sessions throughout the course of WISPAMERICA. To see the full line-up of events taking place, check out the WISPAMERICA 2020 schedule here.
WISPAMERICA 2020 — 5 Must-Attend Sessions
1. Pros and Cons of Building and Owning Your Fiber Network
When: Tuesday, March 17, 2:15-3:15 p.m.
Why You Should Attend: Different access technologies are being used to meet changes in consumer demands, as seen by the rise of hybrid ISPs. Fiber is an attractive alternative source of revenue for WISPs due to the potential to deliver lightning-fast speeds, offer greater speed packages, and attract more business customers. However, fiber also comes with heavy infrastructure costs. If you’re considering expanding your WISP business into other fixed wireless technologies, this is the session for you! Learn about the benefits and drawbacks of building your own fiber network so that you can make an educated decision.
2. Financing for WISPs: Should You Finance, and If So, What Are Your Options?
When: Tuesday, March 17, 3:45-4:45 p.m.
Why You Should Attend: Starting and scaling a WISP network, like any other business, requires a sufficient flow of capital. If you’re a WISP owner, you’ve likely used your own funds to finance your business. But what happens when those funds start to get stretched too thin? Should you look to family, friends, financial institutions, or other investors to upgrade and grow your WISP? Join this session to learn about both traditional and non-traditional sources of financing within the WISP industry, and understand the pros and cons of each.
3. Developing Customer-Centric Services
When: Wednesday, March 18, 8:00-9:15 a.m.
Why You Should Attend: Subscribers are the core of the fixed wireless industry, so offering services that best suit their needs is essential to improving your average revenue per user. Whether it be by understanding how to transform your existing services to better meet the needs of customers, or by engaging in new modes of contact, this session will show you how to give your customers what they really want.
4. Sales and Marketing KPIs
When: Thursday, March 19, 9:45-10:45 a.m.
Why You Should Attend: Sales and marketing key performance indicators (KPIs) allow you to measure and analyze the performance of your WISP. KPIs help businesses evaluate their success in reaching targets. They also allow them to make meaningful adjustments to improve processes and achieve business objectives. Half the battle is identifying which KPIs you should track, while the other half is properly tracking them and making changes accordingly. Attend this session to learn which KPIs are best suited for your business, and how you can use this information to take action.
5. Network Monitoring: Beyond Up/Down
When: Thursday, March 19, 9:45-10:45 a.m.
Why You Should Attend: You can’t fix a problem if you aren’t measuring it properly. Network monitoring is not black and white, but rather a grayscale. As a result, network monitoring goes beyond observing simple up-or-down status information. To deliver an optimal experience to subscribers, network managers must go beyond polling network elements. This session explains network telemetry and explores new networking innovations that enable operators to extract an accurate picture of their network’s true performance.
Bonus: General Tips for WISPAMERICA 2020
- Dress appropriately! You’ll be doing a lot of sitting over the course of all the sessions, and a lot of walking throughout the exhibit hall. Make sure you pack comfortable shoes and versatile clothing in which you can remove layers should you get too warm.
- Plan ahead. You’ve already taken the first step by reading this blog! With over 60 sessions happening throughout WISPAMERICA, as well as numerous opportunities to network, you’ll want to plan what you’ll be doing each day. To help you out, we’ve put together an event page that includes the WISPAMERICA daily agenda, among other information.
- Engage in informal sessions outside of event hours. There are many opportunities at WISPAMERICA to make the most of your time outside of conference hours. After-hours networking sessions and private events are good examples of this. For instance, Preseem is offering private demos throughout the event. We’re also hosting a pre-WISPAMERICA 2020 event for our customers, friends, and other WISP operators on Monday, March 16th, from 4-7 p.m. at The Parlor bar in the Sheraton Dallas Hotel. You can read more about it and register here.
- Make sure to have fun! WISPAMERICA, above all else, is an opportunity to learn more about the industry, gather insights on how to improve your business, and connect with fellow WISPs. Don’t stretch yourself too thin by trying to attend each and every session! Find out what works best for you and enjoy your time at WISPAMERICA 2020.
