Meet Wisper, the Second Largest Winner at $220 Million in the CAF II Auction

One of the most interesting aspects of the recently-completed Connect America Fund (CAF) II auction is the strong showing by smaller, non-traditional service providers. The second biggest winner, for example, was Wisper — a company little known outside southern Illinois and parts of neighboring states, where the company offers fixed wireless broadband, primarily in rural areas, including some areas the company has served for more than a decade. Wisper CEO Nathan Stooke spoke about the company’s $220 million award to help cover the cost of bringing broadband to additional rural areas near the company’s existing operations. The CAF II auction awarded funding to bring broadband to rural areas where the service is not available today, with funding going to the companies that offered to deploy service at the lowest level of support. When Wisper brings broadband to communities that previously lacked it, Stooke said, “you feel like the white knight riding in on your horse.”