An Interview with Matt Larsen, WISPA 2025 Operator of the Year: How Open Access Could Rewrite The ISP Playbook

Send us Fan MailWhat if the best ISP on your block doesn’t own the tower—or even the access network? Drew sits down with Matt Larson, founder and CEO of VistaBeam and chair of WISPA, to explore how open access for fixed wireless and fiber could flip the broadband model from top to bottom. With radio platforms now supporting hundreds of subscribers per sector and multi‑operator IDs on the same AP, shared infrastructure is finally reliable enough to scale.We dig into the real-world friction behind RDOF and BEAD, from delays to defaults, and why contract terms like termination for convenience and reimbursement cadence determine whether builders participate or walk. Matt shares a pragmatic blueprint: treat the access layer like a utility, let specialists focus on what they do best, and use a neutral clearinghouse to standardize APIs, reconcile usage, and settle payments across many operators. The payoff is faster market entry, lower capex per brand, and healthier rural broadband economics.Along the way, we trade notes on vendor advances, consolidation jitters, and the quiet power of AI to improve network operations, customer support, and data analysis without the buzzwords. Most importantly, we spotlight partnerships that replace range wars: one operator runs rock‑solid infrastructure, another owns local relationships, and both win by eliminating duplicate towers, rents, and headaches. If you care about broadband equity, small‑ISP survival, or simply getting reliable service where you live, this conversation offers a clear path forward.Enjoy the episode? Follow the show, share it with a colleague who cares about open access, and leave a quick review to help more builders find us. Then tell us: would you trade some margin to move faster on shared infrastructure? Support the showWanna make your content revolve around you? Telepost.ai Need Wi-Fi supplies? Wifistand.com