WLPC 2025 Day 2: Keep It Real, Keep It About the Tech

I’ve been coming to WLPC for nearly a decade. It’s always been a place where wireless engineers, system administrators, and tech enthusiasts get together to talk shop, share real-world insights, and push the limits of what Wi-Fi can do.

It’s never been about who works where, who sells what, or which vendor has the flashiest marketing.

Yes, there are incredible sessions—deep technical dives, real-world deployment stories, and the kind of hands-on testing that makes WLPC one of a kind. But this year's day 2 there was also a growing trend of vendor-led presentations that felt more like sales pitches than knowledge-sharing.

And listen, I get it. Vendors help make events like this happen. They build the tools we all use, they pay alot of our paychecks, and they have a place in the conversation. But there’s a right way to do it, and there’s a wrong way.

The Right Way: Be the Reason, Not the Product

One of the best things I overheard this week came from a conversation in the crowd. Someone recalled a quote from their sales leadership (thanks Mohammad Ali ) :

“Our job is not to sell people a product, our job is to be the reason they want the product. Be the reason, don’t be the product.”

That mindset is exactly what presenters and those who work for vendors should be bringing to WLPC.

Engineers don’t want to be told which product is “the best.” We want to see it in action, test it, break it, challenge it, and decide for ourselves.

The vendors who did it right this year were the ones who:

? Taught something valuable, whether or not we bought anything.

? Engaged in open discussions and let the technology speak for itself.

? Created hands-on opportunities to explore and test their tools.

My Favorite Example? The Wi-Fi 7 Testing Event.

No slides, no sales pitch—just engineers pushing cutting-edge tech to its limits. And what did we learn?

? MLO isn’t as magical as vendors claim.

? 5 GHz still holds its own in high-density environments.

? Real-world testing beats marketing hype every single time.

This is what WLPC should always be about—real discussions, real results, real engineering.

The Wrong Way: Vendor Webinar Mode

On the flip side, we saw a few too many vendor presentations that felt like repackaged decks from their own vendor expos.

That’s not what people show up to WLPC for. When a session feels like a product briefing — something that could’ve been a webinar or a sales call—it loses the room immediately.

This has happened more than a few times over the years. Some speakers—people we actually want to hear from—seemed tied to their company’s messaging, unable to share freely without circling back to why their employer’s product was the best.

And that’s disappointing because we respect these individuals for their knowledge, not for their logo.

WLPC isn’t a trade show. It’s not an expo. It’s a place where we expect:

? Unfiltered, vendor-neutral knowledge.

? Honest discussions about technology—not marketing spin.

? Speakers who are respected for what they know, not what they’re selling.

If you’re giving a presentation at WLPC , ask yourself:

? Would my talk still work if I removed my company’s logo?

? Would I want to sit through this session myself?

? Am I sharing real technical insights, or just delivering a product pitch?

If your talk could be given word for word at vendor organized conference, filled with customers, maybe it’s not the right fit for WLPC.

The Highlights of Day 2: When WLPC Gets It Right

There were plenty of sessions this year that nailed it—where people just got on stage, shared knowledge, and made everyone in the room better at what they do.

? Nick Turner ’s Update on the WLANPi Project – A pocket-sized spectrum analyzer that magnetically attaches to your phone? That’s what happens when the community builds for the community.

? Jim Florwick on Large Public Venues – No fluff. No vendor spin. Just real experience, real lessons, and real humor. Jim absolutely owned the stage and even threw well-deserved shout-outs to Matt Schwarz for his contributions to LPV deployments. And his line about “the only people who walk into a room and immediately look up at the ceiling are all sitting in this room” was a perfect WLPC moment.

? Peter Mackenzie ’s “Protocol Junkie” Talk – The perfect blend of storytelling, deep technical knowledge, and humor. Peter turned packet inspection into a full-blown performance piece, and it was unforgettable.

? Ben Toner on iPhones & MLO – Seeing Apple’s real-world behavior with Wi-Fi 7 confirmed what many of us suspected. MLO is not the silver bullet it was promised to be.

? Dennis Burrell from Ventev & Connor Burke from AccelTex Solutions / Hubbell Incorporated – Competitors-turned-teammates standing on stage together after a corporate acquisition? They could’ve made it awkward, but instead, they delivered one of the best, most interactive sessions on antennas.

? Meter ’s Open-Discussion Session with Co-Founder Sunil Varanasi – Instead of trapping people in a sales pitch, Meter just fired up their tool on a big screen and let people ask questions to their team, including their co-founder. That’s how you engage an audience.

Where Do We Go From Here?

WLPC has always been about engineers first. But we have to protect what makes it great.

If we let it turn into just another vendor-driven conference, we lose something special.

So, to every vendor, speaker, and attendee:

?? Give the talk you’d want to hear.

?? Be the reason people want to learn about your product, not the reason they tune out.

?? Remember: the people in this room respect you for what you know—not for who signs your paycheck this year.

This industry is small. Next year, you might be wearing a different badge. What lasts isn’t the logo on your slides—it’s your knowledge, experience, and the impact you leave behind.

Let’s keep WLPC real. Let’s keep it about the tech.

What do you think? Did this year’s Day 2 of WLPC feel different to you too? Let’s talk.