San Antonio, TX – Competitive Carriers Association (CCA) today announced the winners of its 2025 Annual Achievement Awards onstage at its Annual Convention, recognizing industry and community contributions from individuals, carriers, and associates in the communications service provider's market. CCA’s Annual Convention takes place this year September 15-17 at the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort in San Antonio, TX.

“I congratulate this year’s award winners, who demonstrate continued leadership in their communities and in our industry,” said Tim Donovan, President and CEO of CCA. “CCA members are deeply tied to the communities they serve, not only as service providers, but also as neighbors and friends, and I’m delighted to recognize the outstanding work and contributions of this year’s winners.”

The 2025 Annual Achievement Award winners are as follows:

Steven K. Berry Outstanding Achievement Award

Judd Hinkle, CEO, Cellular One of Northeast Arizona

Cellular One of Northeast Arizona (Smith Bagley, Inc.) exemplifies industry leadership through both innovation and community impact. In 2025, under Judd’s leadership, they partnered with the Navajo Nation to upgrade 40 cell sites to LTE, bringing faster service to hundreds of homes in remote Tribal areas. They also secured over $4 million in New Mexico broadband grants for new towers and fiber projects—part of 39 initiatives since 2018.

Neko Hamlett Associate Member of the Year Award

Stephen J. Zitnik, EVP & CTO, Interop Technologies

Stephen Zitnik has been a steadfast supporter of CCA and its carriers for nearly three decades. From the beginning of his career, he has been passionate about helping rural and regional carriers succeed. In his role, Zitnik brings a rare combination of technical expertise and business acumen. He is responsible for software development, engineering, product management and IT business strategy, but his focus is always the same: building solutions “the right way” for carriers.

Outstanding Service Award (Carrier)

Carolina West Wireless

Hurricane Helene was tragic and brought extreme devastation to the region. At the height of the storm, Carolina West Wireless (CWW) was challenged to maintain service while much of its network was offline. With the tireless commitment of its dedicated employees, most of its network was restored within a matter of a few days. In response to the devastation, CWW transformed its retail locations into Wi-Fi and charging hubs and served refreshments. It also waived late fees and overage charges to help relieve some of the financial burden. Shortly after the storm, CWW partnered with a local government agency to provide free smartphones and wireless service to storm impacted low-income households with no access to wireless connectivity.

Industry Innovation Award (Carrier)

Southern Linc

Southern Linc developed a helikite, a hybrid balloon-kite storm response unit and has tested it throughout the Southeast. It is equipped with an LTE radio and antenna designed to bridge the coverage gap and assist Georgia power crews and state agencies during times of storm and/or disaster recovery.

Industry Innovation Award (Associate)

Shush Inc. and ClearSky Technologies

SNAP (Silent Network Authentication Platform) by ClearSky Technologies and powered by Shush, is a breakthrough security solution that helps carriers combat SIM swap fraud and unauthorized access with seamless, network-based protection. Unlike traditional authentication tools, SNAP operates silently in the background, leveraging carrier signaling data to verify device and subscriber identity in real time—without requiring customer action. This innovative approach empowers carriers to offer enterprise-grade security with minimal integration effort, enhancing subscriber trust and reducing fraud-related losses.

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About Competitive Carriers Association

Competitive Carriers Association (CCA) is the leading association for competitive communications service providers and stakeholders across the United States. Members range from small, rural carriers serving fewer than 5,000 customers to regional and nationwide providers serving millions, as well as vendors and suppliers delivering products and services throughout the communications ecosystem. In 2026, CCA’s Mobility & Connectivity Show will be held April 14-16 in Louisville, KY and the Annual Convention will take place September 14-16 in New Orleans. Visit ccamobile.org and on Twitter/X, @CCAMobile #CCA2025.