We are here to drive seamless and interoperable service experiences via Wi-Fi

WBA undertakes programs and activities to address business and technical issues, as well as opportunities, for member companies in order to enable collaboration among service providers, technology companies, cities, venue partners and organizations. Our key programs include NextGen Wi-Fi, 5G, IoT, Testing & Interoperability and Roaming, with member-led Work Groups dedicated to resolving standards and technical issues to promote end-to-end services and accelerate business opportunities.

WBA Programs Overview
Outstanding Leadership Awards

5G WORK GROUP

The objective of the 5G Work Group is to address business issues at a system level and develop 5G ecosystem related opportunities, spanning through different unlicensed wireless technologies.

NIGEL BIRD

Orange,
Chair

MARK GRAYSON

Cisco,
Co-Chair

FLORIN BABOESCU

Broadcom,
Co-Chair

NEXTGEN WORK GROUP

The objectives of the Next Gen Work are to drive industry engagements and address business opportunities that are transversally impactful to the Wi-Fi industry.

KISHORE RAJA

Boingo Wireless,
Chair

NECATI CANPOLAT

Intel Corp,
Co-Chair

STEVE DYETT

BT,
Co-Chair

TESTING & INTEROPERABILITY WORK GROUP

The objectives of the Testing & Interoperability Work Group are to improve customer experience on Next Generation Hotspot (NGH) networks by eliminating barriers (devices and infrastructure), execute end-to-end trials (and test plans if needed), e2e Interoperability, technology assessments which are relevant to successfully execute testing.

MICHAEL SYM

Single Digits,
Chair

ERINN HALL

AT&T,
Co-Chair

LUTHER SMITH

CableLabs,
Co-Chair

IOT WORK GROUP

The objectives of the IoT Work Group are to focus on the interoperability across different unlicensed technologies and radio access networks, demonstrating the value and opportunities with the expansion of Wi-Fi for new IoT use cases and applications.

DAN KLAEREN

Syniverse,
Chair

JAAP GROOT

Semtech,
Co-Chair

ROAMING WORK GROUP

The objectives of the Roaming Work Group are to stimulate the global deployment of WBA roaming programs and support the development and maintenance of technical enablers (specifications, guidelines, best practices, templates etc). This group is also responsible for maintaining WBA WRIX standards for Wi-Fi Roaming and collaboration with peer industry forums.

ERINN HALL

AT&T,
Chair

BETTY COCKRELL

Single Digits,
Co-Chair

MARKET WORK GROUP

The primary objective of the Market Work Group is to develop and align the various marketing activities (general marketing, events and thought-leadership) to serve the needs of WBA membership.

MELODY ECLAVEA

AT&T,
Chair

Policy & Regulatory Affairs Work Group

The objective of WBA’s Policy & Regulatory Affairs Work Group is to track global trends and relevant policy & spectrum issues that are of concern to the WBA membership. The Work Group will coordinate Wi-Fi advocacy efforts across membership, cities, regions, and regulators globally.

BURHAN MASOOD

Broadcom,
Chair

Outstanding leadership awards overview

The Outstanding Leadership awards are presented to recognize the individuals who have made significant contributions to WBA projects and activities. They have successfully led work groups with impactful deliverables and have broadly engaged with the ecosystem peers to find synergies, cross-contribute and make bridges. Their unique status over the calendar year help driving seamless, interoperable service experience via Wi-Fi within the global wireless ecosystem. List of past winners are as follows:

Necati Canpolat

Charlie Allgrove

Betty Cockrell

Dave Wright

Erin Hall

Luther Smith

Mark Grayson

Michael Sym

Nigel Bird

WBA Programs Overview
work groups and leadership

Lifetime Achievement Award

Nigel contributed his significant expertise and resources including as Chair of the WBA’s Business Work Group from 2010 – 2017 and the Chair of WBA’s 5G Work Group from 2017 – 2021. He played a significant role in planning and successfully executing our flagship Next Generation Hotspot (NGH) program has helped drive the adoption of Next Generation Wi-Fi technologies globally. In addition, he has also contributed actively to Carrier Wi-Fi, RADIUS-Diameter interworking and WRIX-N, which helped WBA accelerate the momentum for next-generation Wi-Fi and also attracted strong participation in WBA activities from across the ecosystem.

Nigel Bird

Lifetime Achievement Award

Nigel Bird

Nigel contributed his significant expertise and resources including as Chair of the WBA’s Business Work Group from 2010 – 2017 and the Chair of WBA’s 5G Work Group from 2017 – 2021. He played a significant role in planning and successfully executing our flagship Next Generation Hotspot (NGH) program has helped drive the adoption of Next Generation Wi-Fi technologies globally. In addition, he has also contributed actively to Carrier Wi-Fi, RADIUS-Diameter interworking and WRIX-N, which helped WBA accelerate the momentum for next-generation Wi-Fi and also attracted strong participation in WBA activities from across the ecosystem.