03/19/2019
It was great to be at this year’s WLPC in Tempe, AZ. Although it was cold and raining outside, it’s what happened inside that matters most. Here are some highlights:
The best news for WiFi Professionals was also the topic of the best presentation of the conference. Chuck Lukaszewski spoke about “Opening 6 GHz band” as one the last presentations of the conference. He really did a great job of explaining everything that has been factored into the decision to make the 6 GHz band unlicensed and available for 802.11 (WiFi). The technical details of 6 GHz including Automated Frequency Coordination (AFC) were also explained thoroughly. In my opinion, all Wireless Professionals should check out this presentation (https://www.wlanpros.com/resources/opening-6-ghz-band-chuck-lukaszewski-wlpc-phoenix-2019/) of what will be a very important topic in the years ahead. Great job Chuck!
Another interesting presentation was, “The Future of WiFi Design, Imagined” by Kelly Burroughs (https://www.wlanpros.com/resources/the-future-of-wifi-design-imagined-kelly-burroughs-wlpc-phoenix-2019/). She really had an interesting presentation as she gave us a glimpse of how immersive design with Augmented Reality worked. A virtual room was setup on the big screen and the audience was able to see how coverage changed as you add/move building materials. There was a lot more to it than just that part though. The whole presentation was done well, and it was fun to see it live. Great work Kelly!
Out of all of the ten-minute, short presentations (Ten-talks), my favorite was, “The Netflix Effect on Guest Wi-Fi” from Jim Palmer. He provided clear, compelling evidence of how rate limiting causes bottlenecks when client devices are streaming and made a good argument against rate limiting of streaming services like Netflix and YouTube.
While I did think highly of most of the presentations, there were some that most Wireless Pros have either already heard in past presentations or already know a lot about the topic. So many topics have already been covered at conferences throughout the years, that it is difficult and challenging to come up with a new one. There were also some non-technical presentations that seemed out of place. One of them was a ten-talk about being kind to others on social media. I think we all know kindness is a good quality to have all the time. Ten minutes on that topic at a wireless conference is ten minutes too long. Having said that though, I thought the speakers and presentations at the conference were good overall.
Outside of all the speakers, this conference also included deep-dive sessions. I attended “Portable Wi-Fi” which provided some very small (or portable) Wi-Fi tools that Wi-Fi Professionals can keep with them for analyzing Wi-Fi wherever they go. The session was centered around the WLAN Pi which can act as a local packet capture, a remote sensor, or remote endpoint for network performance testing. Having these tools and the knowledge to use them can help Wi-Fi Pros analyze and mitigate issues quickly. During the session, the instructors walked us through various labs that gave us the chance to monitor, scan, capture, and analyze wireless traffic using a laptop, WLAN Pi, and USB adapter. This deep-dive session was very informative and educational.
Additionally, the WLPC also did a good job with providing opportunities for social interaction at various evening events. This is an important part of every conference.
Overall, the 2019 WLPC was fun to be a part of and worth attending, in spite of that cold Arizona weather (can’t believe I just said that).
