By Patrick Halley, President and CEO, WIA
If I were to capture 2024 for the Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA) in one word, it would be PROGRESS.
Across the board we are making progress as an association through our essential advocacy efforts, by consistently promoting the importance of wireless infrastructure, and by working to ensure our membership programs, events and industry training programs support all aspects of our members’ businesses.
We are pleased to present the WIA 2024 Year in Review, which outlines these accomplishments and more.
Over the past year, we gained ground on major aspects of WIA’s policy agenda:
- We led the charge by successfully defending the FCC’s 5G Upgrade order in court and urging Congress to codify all of the FCC’s streamlined permitting rules, which have successfully supported the initial rollout of 5G across the country.
- We launched “Permitting Month” in April as part of a year-long effort to improve the permitting process – whether at the FAA, on federal lands, or at the local level – and we made progress on several fronts.
- We kept our finger on the pulse of state and local legislation and rulemakings across the country, acting quickly when it mattered most.
- And we successfully advocated for wireless services – fixed and mobile – to receive funding via the US Department of Commerce National Telecommunication and Information Administration’s (NTIA) $42 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program.
Whether it is advocating for a spectrum pipeline, seeking billions for “Rip and Replace,” or to fix an outdated FCC Antenna Structure Registration (ASR) System – no issue is too big or too small for the WIA Government Affairs team!
Workforce development continues to be an important aspect of how WIA is helping our member companies prepare for the future.
We played a key role in shaping the workforce development initiatives for the wireless industry as an Industry Intermediary for Telecommunications:
- Our Telecommunications Industry Registered Apprenticeship Program (TIRAP) marked its 107th employer with nearly 6,000 apprentices registered to date.
- Our leadership within the Ohio Broadband and 5G Sector Partnership has led to more than 750 Ohioans earning industry-recognized broadband-related credentials to date and has been cited by NTIA as a model workforce development program.
We pushed our industry forward by bringing leaders together to discuss the latest industry insights through new member initiatives such as the Professional Services Forum, the In-Building Forum, and the Emerging Wireless Professionals initiative. And we drove the conversation on key market trends at Connect (X), which saw an unprecedented turnout with more than 3,200 attendees from 28 countries and 47 US States, including executives from leading telecom companies, policymakers, and technology visionaries.
Progress.
These successes were only possible with the active participation and commitment of our members to whom I say thank you. It is a genuine privilege to work on behalf of the most important industry in America. And we are just getting rolling.
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