Kuala Lumpur, April 18, 2013 – Japan's NTT Communications won top honors in the 16th Telecom Asia Awards last night, taking home both the Best Asian Telecom Carrier (Best of the Best) award and Best Cloud-based Service prize. The company was nominated in four categories by the panel of 24 judges.
A total of 13 awards were presented to 12 winners at a gala dinner in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday night.
Telstra CEO David Thodey was voted Telecom CEO of the Year for creating innovation in a large-market incumbent and for what one judge said "being the turnaround king".
South Korea's SK Telecom picked up the Best Mobile Carrier award for the second year running while Telekom Malaysia also was named Best Broadband Carrier for second time. XL Axiata claimed the Best Emerging Markets Carrier award for demonstrating sustainable business models and growth in a very competitive market.
Philippines mobile operators won the two project-based awards: Smart Communications' NOAH Mobile was recognized at the Best Community Telecom Project while Globe Telecom's My SuperPlan was the Most Innovative Telecom Project.
Three new categories were added this year. Hong Kong's 3 won the Most Innovative Partnership Strategy award for its partnership with WhatsApp, CSL was recognized for having the Most Advanced Approach to CEM and Equinix was voted Best Data Center Services Provider.
BT Global Services and Pacnet also were repeat winners in the Best Managed Services Provider and Best International Wholesale Carrier categories respectively.
Now in its 16th year, the awards are the region’s longest-running and most prestigious telecom industry awards. They reward innovative and outstanding performance by Asian service providers and industry executives. The awards were held in conjunction with Telecom Asia's Telco Strategies conference. The theme for 2013 was "At the crossroads: Innovation strategies to profit in the digital world."
The Telecom Asia Awards selection is made by an independent panel of industry experts, who cast votes on the basis of innovation, financial performance, technology, market leadership and corporate governance.
The judging is conducted over two rounds, and the methodology varies slightly between segments. In the first round, the 24 judges nominate their best performers in each category (except Wholesale and Managed Services), where the candidates are asked to submit nominations. In the second round, the judges cast their votes on the shortlist of finalists, which is determined by Telecom Asia editors based on the nominations (both those from the judging panel and self-nominations).
Telecom Asia Awards 2013 Winners:
Best Asian Telecom Carrier
NTT Communications
Telecom CEO of the Year
David Thodey, Telstra
Best Mobile Carrier
SK Telecom
Best Broadband Carrier
Telekom Malaysia
Best Emerging Markets Carrier
XL Axiata
Best Data Center Services Provider
Equinix
Best Community Telecom Project
Smart Communications' NOAH Mobile
Most Innovative Telecom Project
Globe Telecom's My Superplan
Best Cloud-Based Service
NTT Communications
Most Innovative Partnership Strategy
3 Hong Kong and WhatsApp
Most Advanced Approach to CEM
CSL
Best Managed Services Provider
BT Global Services
Best International Wholesale Carrier
Pacnet
About Telecom Asia
Telecom Asia is Asia's largest regional telecom publishing group. Its products include Telecom Asia magazine, www.telecomasia.net and a range of industry-specific supplements aimed at telecommunications professionals around the region.
Further information:
Joseph Waring
Group Editor
Telecom Asia, telecomasia.net, telecomsemea.net
Phone: +852 2589 1389
Email: jwaring@telecomasia.net