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It was the 10th Anniversary of this wonderful conference, and it was my 5th time attending this event in the USA. Like in past events, I arrived one week early in the USA and spent time with Chris, who made my WLPC trip memorable by flying me to Phoenix from Texas (and back).

I had to teach my favorite Rockstar Wireless Analysis class in a 3-day bootcamp. We covered 6 GHz operations in great detail during this in-person class. I am sure everyone in the class had the opportunity to fill some knowledge gaps and leave with a solid understanding of Wi-Fi MAC & PHY, 6GHz operations, WPA3, Fast Roaming, and Wi-Fi QoS. Here is a group photo of my class attendees. (thank you all)

After the 3-day bootcamps, the main conference started on February 20th and ended on the 22nd mid-day. There were many great presentations, Wi-Fi Awards, deep dive sessions, and vendor events during the main conference. You should watch the session recordings when they become available. Here is a list to begin with (I will link them to recordings once available). You should explore all conference sessions if you were not able to attend in person.

  1. Wi-Fi 6E, Year Three by Wes Purvis
  2. First Look at Enterprise Wi-Fi 7 AP by Jim Palmer
  3. Is Wi-Fi 7 the Upgrade You’re Craving? by David Coleman
  4. Rethink Your Uplink by Jim Vajda
  5. Wi-Fi HaLow 802.11ah & Real-World Performance Results by Troy Martin
  6. Outdoor Wi-Fi and Hybrid Power+Fiber Cabling by Brian Ward
  7. Radiation: Nuclear Power Plants and Wireless by Ferney Munoz (if you watch this video from Prague-2023 you will see a connection to it and the human side of this community as well)

I enjoyed the “Aaronia Spectrum Analyzer” Deep Dive the most. Without a doubt, it is the most powerful spectrum analyzer available to us as Wi-Fi professionals. Peter Mackenzie delivered it with the Aaronia team also available for expert advice.

Here is how to demodulate frame details using the spectrum analyzer. (Note: Some of these modules are licensed and expensive. Depending on your requirements, you can purchase those licensed modules).

Here is a short video of how can you decode an analog camera feed simply using this analyzer.

After the deep dives, we were given the choice of buying that hardware (SPECTRAN® V6 PLUS 500XA-6) for a discounted price of $2,500 (without licenses). I ended up buying one and am looking forward to testing it out and using it for my work in the future (class teaching as well as consulting services).

During the event, there was a celebration to mark the 10th Anniversary. During that time, community members spoke about how the WLPC event changed their lives for the better and how immensely grateful they are for Keith, the founder of this event. Keith’s family members came for the event, which took him by surprise as well. We all heard directly from Keith’s children how they see their dad being with them in all important moments in their lives despite his busy schedule, and teaching all around the world.

Like many others, networking is the most beautiful part of this event. The Wi-Fi community is close-knit respects each other and is welcoming.

I will head back home on Sunday night (a long 18-hour flight from Dallas to Melbourne). I am looking forward to the European version of the conference in October 2024.