CENTREVILLE, AL – Alabama Lightwave is excited to announce the appointment of Tommy Waldrop as the new Chief Operating Officer (COO) for the company. Residing in Pennington, Alabama, Tommy Waldrop brings a wealth of experience to the team, having previously established and managed Waldrop Wireless, an Alabama-based tower services firm.
Tommy has led Waldrop Wireless since 2018, providing services to over 300 Internet Service Providers (ISPs), including tower construction, maintenance, equipment installation, storm damage repairs, and broadband expansion planning, among other responsibilities. His extensive background in internet operations and dedication to the industry since his teenage years contribute significantly to his expertise.
Excited about his new role, Tommy said, “I have a deep-rooted passion for wireless internet. Joining Alabama Lightwave represents a thrilling return to the operations space in this industry for me, and I am eager to contribute to the company’s growth and success. Particularly, I look forward to making broadband more accessible in my local community and surrounding areas.”
Tommy comes from Demopolis, an anchor community in West Alabama. Alabama Lightwave has recently expanded in this area through acquisition of Wolf Broadband in Butler. His local knowledge and professional background position him well to address the broadband needs across West Alabama and beyond.
Josh Lambert, the CEO and founder of Alabama Lightwave, expressed enthusiasm about Tommy’s addition to the team: “Our neighbors across Central and West Alabama have expressed a strong need for rapid and reliable broadband service. By welcoming Tommy aboard, we anticipate significant coverage expansion, network performance improvements, a better customer experience, an expanded workforce, and overall operational upgrades across Alabama Lightwave. His wealth of industry knowledge will be applied immediately to making our company run better than it ever has. We’re absolutely delighted he’s joined the team and are excited for the future.”
Waldrop Wireless will continue operations under a new name “Vertical Axis” operated by Kelly Zacrep. Vertical Axis serves as the primary tower contractor for Alabama Lightwave – recently visiting Bibb County to perform tower upgrades and maintenance in the area. You can learn more about Vertical Axis on their website www.vertical-axis.com.
Alabama Lightwave presently serves multiple rural Alabama communities including Centreville, Brent, Jemison, Eoline, and Butler, with aims to further extend the served area under Tommy’s leadership.
To learn more about Alabama Lightwave and our service offerings, please visit www.alabamalightwave.com, email us at info@alabamalightwave.com, or call the Centreville office at 205.809.9051.
Photographs of Tommy Waldrop and Kelly Zacrep courtesy of photographer Ryan Grewell.
