Washington, DC, October 9, 2025 – By leveraging a mix of wireless and wired technologies, hometown service providers are true vanguards delivering reliable, powerful and cost-effective broadband solutions to millions of Americans in, or adjacent to, the digital divide. For more than 20 years, these hometown service providers, and the suppliers that support them, have steadily grown and evolved, improving the lives of their customers and communities through connectivity, making them better, safer and more prosperous.
Each fall, WISPA celebrates this vibrant ecosystem at WISPA’s annual convention, WISPAPALOOZA in Las Vegas. The event, which brings together thousands of attendees for vital discussions on operations, finance, marketing, managed services, technology and policy (among others), presents an ideal setting to highlight the success of the industry’s hometown service providers and the companies which help them thrive.
“Millions of Americans depend on us to stay connected,” said David Zumwalt, WISPA’s President & CEO. “They expect and demand services which are powerful, evolutionary and built to last, and the WISP community delivers that in spades. We’re here to give recognition to those leading the charge, bringing cutting-edge innovation to America’s hardest to reach and serve communities. Their dedication to delivering access to all, no matter where they live, remains peerless.”
This year’s awards include Operator of the Year; Manufacturer of the Year; Product of the Year; Service of the Year; Distributor of the Year; and the Triumph Award. Winners were chosen by WISPA members through an open round of nominations and subsequent voting.
This year’s winners are:
- Operator of the Year: Vistabeam Internet, a fixed wireless and fiber ISP providing broadband access to more than 100 communities across western Nebraska, northeastern Colorado, and southeastern Wyoming.
- Manufacturer of the Year: Ubiquiti Networks, a hardware manufacturer and systems integrator based in NYC, New York, offering wireless access devices, cloud gateways, camera security, switching and advanced network hosting solutions.
- Product of the Year: LibreQoS, a quality of experience service provider based in El Paso, Texas, whose mission is to empower ISPs of every size to deliver low-latency, high-fairness connectivity through open-source tools, smart queue management, and community-driven innovation.
- Service of the Year: Splynx, an ISP billing and network management system based in Prague, Czech Republic, whose mission is to help companies automate mundane tasks and free up their valuable time to grow their business.
- Distributor of the Year: Winncom Technologies, a global distributor of ISP supplies, infrastructure and solutions, based in Solon, OH.
- Triumph Award: Cambium Networks, a broad-based fiber, fixed wireless and hybrid network hardware, software and solutions provider based in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.
“The nominees and winners represent the best our industry has to offer to American broadband consumers,” said Zumwalt. “The hometown operators, products and services developed within this ecosystem provide powerful and effective solutions that meet or exceed those seen in our nation’s greatest cities and surrounding areas. We are extremely proud of these companies and what they are doing to help all Americans stay connected and lead in the global economy.”
The awards presentation will be made during WISPALAOOZA’s general session, Tuesday, October 14, 2025.
