Haikou, China, April 16, 2007 - Korean mobile operator SK Telecom was the biggest winner here on the telecom industry's night of nights, picking up the two of the top prizes in the 10th Telecom Asia Awards.
For the second year in a row, SK Telecom, the leading player in the tech-savvy Korean cellular market, took out the biggest award -Best Asian Telecom Carrier - as well as well top honor in its own category, Best Mobile Carrier.
The award citation said SK Telecom had maintained leadership market though its "innovative content services and investment in new infrastructure, while at the same time expanding through new ventures in Vietnam and the US."
The Telecom Asia Awards are the most prestigious honors in Asian telecommunications and have been presented annually since 1998.
Allen Lew, CEO of SingTel Singapore, was named Telecom CEO of the Year for the reinvigorated performance of the Singapore incumbent in broadband and mobile in the past 12 months.
In a sparkling ceremony on shores of the South China Sea, 10 carriers from around the region were presented with their trophies.
Other recipients included BT Asia-Pacific for Best Managed Services Provider, Asia Netcom for Best Wholesale Carrier and Bharti Televentures for Best Emerging Market Carrier.
Malaysia's Maxis Communications was voted Best Competitive Carrier, Hong Kong-based AsiaSat won the satellite category and BSNL claimed the Best Indian Carrier trophy.
The new category of Best Telco Transformation was won by Australia's Telstra Corp.
Web 2.0, the user-driven online platform for collaboration, was voted Best New Technology for its potential to disrupt the telecom services business.
"SK Telecom would like to thank Telecom Asia and its partners for providing this great opportunity and giving us these two prestigious awards. From our strong foothold at home, SK Telecom will continue to focus on the research and development of new and convergent wireless business models that can not only lead the Korean market but also contribute to the global telecommunications field," said Choong Lai Cho, Vice President, SK Telecom Public Relations Office.
Robert Clark, convenor of the judging panel, said the 2007 awards followed the pattern of recent years with the dominance of north-east Asian and Indian operators.
"Japanese, Korean and to some extent Hong Kong carriers are leading the region in innovation, while Indian telcos are reaping the benefits of strong market growth combined with aggressive and professional management," he said.
The winners were judged on their financial, market and technology strengths based on financial analysis and assessments by a 15-member judging panel. The judges are backed by a research team at IDC, a leading provider of global ICT research and advice, and using a combination of its extensive communications research in Asia/Pacific and financial analysis of the carriers.
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