The addition of Farnon brings a new level of IP product and marketing experience to Sparkplug, and sets the stage for the next wave of the company's growth. Since 2006, the company has seen significant growth both through mergers and acquisitions with other fixed wireless providers and through the expansion of its business broadband and data access services across seven states and five metropolitan markets.

"One of the most important criteria for success for any company is having the right leadership team to help it achieve its goals and potential," said Mike Ruley, CEO of Sparkplug Communications. "The IP product and marketing experience that Maria Farnon brings as our new VP of Marketing is a perfect fit for our company's strategic objectives, and she will play an important role on our leadership team to help drive us into new market segments and accelerate our growth."

The opportunity of joining a strong company in a dynamic telecommunications sector is what attracted Farnon to Sparkplug. "I am excited to be joining Sparkplug in a period where there is enormous opportunity. Small business is a segment that depends on highly reliable bandwidth to meet their voice and data needs that can scale easily with their growth, and enable their business plans with the right price point. Sparkplug can meet all of those needs. I am looking forward to tuning Sparkplug's product offerings to meet the needs of our growing customer base."

Farnon brings to Sparkplug a strong track record of leadership and success in data access and voice services. She previously worked at MCI, and most recently at Level 3 Communications, Inc. As a vice president serving in several product management and product development roles, Farnon was responsible for a wide range of functions, including managing profit and loss, creating go-to-market strategies, training the salesforce and determining pricing.

Farnon's appointment is effective immediately. She will be based in the company's Scottsdale, Ariz. location.