Here’s what’s new with AZWA.

Submitted on January 2010, 10:59 am by John Stevens

MAKE SURE TO SIGN UP SOON. SPONSORSHIPS AND PLAYING SPOTS ARE GOING FAST - ONLY 48 PLAYER SPOTS LEFT. CURRENTLY THERE IS ONLY ONE SPONSORSHIP LEFT!

THANK YOU TO GENERAL DYNAMICS WIRELESS, CROWN CASTLE, T-MOBILE TOWERS, AT&T TOWERS, SRP TELECOM, W-T ENGINEERING, TALLEY, PATRIOT TOWERS, ANDREW/COMMSCOPE, GLOBAL TOWER PARTNERS AND TOWERCO FOR YOUR SPONSORSHIP SUPPORT!!

Head out to the practice range! The 3^rd annual AZWA golf tournament is going to be held on Wednesday April 7th, 2010. We will be playing the ASU Karsten golf course in Tempe Arizona.

The AZWA tournament has sold out every year so don’t wait to sign up for the 2010 tournament!

It will be a great time and a fantastic way to network in the industry. There will be a barbecue lunch, prizes and dinner after the tournament.

A great way to get your company noticed and support local charities is to become an event sponsor. If you are interested in sponsoring please contact John Stevens at john@azwa.org.

We welcome ideas for a local charity to support through this tournament. Please send your local charity ideas to john@azwa.org.

The cost per person is $250.00 which includes lunch, dinner, prizes and whole lot of fun!! To sign up for the event go the “Events” tab at www.azwa.org.

TIME: Check in will be 10:00am followed by lunch and a 12:30 shotgun start.

Stay tuned for more information about sponsor levels.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Submitted on March 2009, 02:51 pm by John Stevens

Thank you to Ginnie Ann Sumner, AZ Wireless Association’s Regulatory Chair, and T-Mobile for their efforts on the Phoenix Wireless Text Amendment.

In June of 2007 representatives from the Arizona Wireless Association met with Debra Stark, Phoenix Planning Director, and Elizabeth DeMichael, Zoning Administrator. As a result of that meeting, carrier and wireless representatives met almost bi-weekly to develop a wireless text amendment with the goals of:

Placing all wireless in one section rather than throughout the various zoning districts
Creating a faster approval process
Developing guidelines that will remain consistent and equally applied by staff

In addition to working with staff, the representatives met with neighborhood leaders. On August 13, 2008 the Planning Commission voted to initiate the wireless text amendment.

T-Mobile sponsored the creation of a PowerPoint presentation that included an education component to help the committees, citizens, and elected officials understand how wireless works and why sites are selected.

The proposed text amendment was presented to each of the Village Planning Committees, the Planning Commission, and then to the City Council for final approval on March 4, 2009.

GREAT WORK!!

Submitted on 9 March 2010, 9:07 am by Fierce Wireless

Verizon Wireless received top marks for quality, value and customer satisfaction in YouGov's Brand Index survey of the Tier 1 U.S. wireless carriers. The survey, which looks at how the various carriers' brands are viewed, was conducted every week day over the past 12 months and included 5,000 Americans from an online panel of 1.5 million. Survey respondents were asked to rate each of the carriers on a scale of 100 down to -100 for each of the three categories. In each, Verizon was on top, followed by AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile USA and Sprint Nextel. Article, chart

Submitted on 9 March 2010, 9:01 am by Fierce Wireless

The FCC may release spectrum for "free or very low-cost" wireless broadband service to boost wider broadband adoption. The proposal is one small part of the commission's national broadband plan, which it will formally present to Congress March 17.

The commission did not offer details about the proposal, including how it will be funded and how many people it will impact. The commission has been dribbling out information about the plan in advance of its release, and increased spectrum for wireless broadband is a key part of the plan.

The agency last month outlined an effort it said could free up 500 MHz of spectrum over the next decade for mobile broadband use. The plan would allow current spectrum licensees, including broadcasters, to voluntarily give up spectrum in exchange for a share of auction proceeds. A separate part of the FCC's broadband plan calls on Congress to allocate $12 billion to $16 billion over 10 years to help build an interoperable, pubic-safety broadband network.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski repeatedly has acknowledged the need to free up more spectrum for mobile broadband. "Spectrum--our airwaves--really is the oxygen of mobile broadband service," he said in a speech in February. "Without sufficient spectrum, we will starve mobile broadband of the nourishment it needs to thrive as a platform for innovation, job creation and economic growth."

For more:
- see this Bloomberg article
- see this Reuters article