Hong Kong, March 17, 2016 – Telecom Asia today announced the finalists in its 20th Telecom Asia Awards, with 11 judges nominating their top choices in 17 out of 21 categories.
This year’s shortlist – which features 55 nominated companies across 15 Asia-Pacific markets – sees the judges recognize innovation and achievements in both developed and emerging markets, with the most diverse field of entrants in the 20 year history of the awards.
Singtel leads the pack this year with eight nominations, followed by SK Telecom, nominated seven times. Telstra, Telekom Malaysia (and its subsidiary VADS Lyfe) and the Axiata Group (along with three of its subsidiaries - Ncell, XL Axiata and Dialog Axiata) each garnered six nominations this year.
Telkom Indonesia - together with its mobile subsidiary Telkomsel - picked up five nominations, while Japan’s NTT Docomo was nominated four times.
Another six operators each received three nominations across a wide variety of categories, comprising Bharti Airtel, China Telecom, Globe Telecom, Colt Technology Services, PLDT (and its innovation unit Voyager), and HKT (with its sister companies PCCW Solutions and PCCW Media).
This year’s awards also features two new categories: Best E-Commerce Service and Most Innovative Voice Service. The e-commerce category drew three operators from both developed (NTT Docomo) and emerging (PLDT unit Voyager and XL Axiata) markets. Meanwhile, contenders for the Most Innovative Voice Service category include YTL Communications, Reliance Jio, SK Telecom and SmarTone.
As with last year, this year’s shortlist features some decidedly non-traditional nominees, including Alibaba, Paytm and Google, nominations which underline the dramatically shifting nature of the Asia-Pacific telecoms space.
“The nominations continue to be a good reflection of a telecoms industry which is in ongoing transformation,” said Telecom Asia group editor Lachlan Colquhoun.
“Companies which have previously been considered technology players are now competing with long established carriers, and in many cases are also collaborating with them.
“All of this is driving innovation fueled by exciting new technologies which are changing not only the face of our industry, but the way people in the region live their lives.”
The shortlist was compiled from nominations made by the judging panel and Telecom Asia readers, as well as the TA editorial team.
As with last year, there were no nominations for the Best Asian Telecom Carrier, as it is a best-of-the-best award which goes to the company receiving the most points across all categories during voting.
Now in its 20th year, the awards are the region’s longest-running and most prestigious telecoms industry awards. They reward innovative and outstanding performance by Asian service providers and industry executives. The awards are held in conjunction with Telecom Asia’s 8th Annual Telco Strategies conference. The theme for 2017 is “Get real or go home: digital transformation reality check for telecoms players”.
Final selection is made by an independent panel of industry experts, who cast votes on criteria of innovation, financial performance, technology, market leadership and corporate governance.
Winners will be notified by the end of March. The awards will be presented at a ceremony in Kuala Lumpur on May 3.
Telecom Asia Awards 2017 Shortlist
1. Telecom CEO of the Year
- Chua Sock Koong, Singtel
- Ernest Cu, Globe Telecom
- Masayoshi Son, Softbank
- Suphachai Chearavanont, True
- Yang Jie, China Telecom
- Vinod Kumar, Tata Communications
- Tan Sri Dato' Zamzamzairani Mohd Isa, Telekom Malaysia (TM)
- Morten Lundal, Maxis
2. Best Mobile Carrier
- LG U+ , South Korea
- NTT Docomo, Japan
- Singtel, Singapore
- Telkomsel, Indonesia
- Telstra, Australia
- China Mobile, China
3. Best Broadband Carrier
- HKT, Hong Kong
- Indosat Ooredoo, Indonesia
- NTT Docomo, Japan
- TPG Telecom, Australia
- HKBN, Hong Kong
- China Telecom, China
- Telekom Malaysia (TM), Malaysia
4. Best Emerging Market Operator
- Globe Telecom, Philippines
- Indosat Ooredoo, Indonesia
- Maxis, Malaysia
- Telenor Myanmar, Myanmar
- Telkomsel, Indonesia
- Bharti Airtel, India
5. Best MVNO
- Amaysim, Australia
- Redone, Malaysia
- Snail Mobile, China
- TuneTalk, Malaysia
6. Best Cloud-Based Service
- NTT Communications: Cloud Management Platform (CMP)
- PCCW Solutions: Infinitum
- Singtel: Singtel Managed Cloud
- SK Telecom: Cloud Streaming
- Telstra: Cloud Management Platform
7. Best Mobile Payments Service
- Alipay, China
- Paytm, India
- PLDT’s PayMaya
- Singtel Dash
- Telkomsel’s T-Cash
- Dialog Axiata eZcash
8. Most Innovative Partnership Strategy
- Idea Cellular, Google Play
- Smart MasterCard (Smart, PayMaya Philippines and MasterCard)
- Smart C-RAN Putrajaya Project (Telekom Malaysia, Perbadanan Putrajaya and technology partners)
- 5G Connected Car /T5 (SK Telecom, Ericsson and BMW Korea Group)
9. Most Innovative Approach to Customer Experience
- Axiata Group
- Bharti Airtel
- SK Telecom
- Singtel
- YTL Communications
- Far EasTone
10. Most Innovative Approach to Analytics
- Globe Telecom
- Tata Communications
- Telstra
- VADS Lyfe
11. Most Innovative Approach to Mobile Security
- M1, Cyber Security Solutions Suite
- NTT Docomo
- Singtel, Enterprise Mobility Management
- SK Telecom, T Authentication
12. Most Innovative Video Service
- Digi Video Freedom, Digi Telecommunications
- Olleh Air, KT
- USeeTV, Telkom Indonesia
- Airtel Movies, Bharti Airtel
13. Best Community Telecom Project
- Google Station (India)
- Smart, PayMaya Philippines and Oxfam: Ahon Tacloban Financial inclusion program
- Ncell: Ncell Water for Agricultural Livelihood Project
- Telkom Indonesia: E-learning project - Digitize teacher's Certification with the Ministry of Education)
- Telekom Malaysia (TM): Fiberization Project for Kg. Mat Daling
- XL Axiata: XL Xmart Village 3.0
14. Most Innovative Telecom Project
- Google Project Loon
- China Unicom: NB-IoT-based smart parking at the Shanghai International Tourism and Resorts Zone
- SK Telecom: “Nugu” (AI personnel assistant)
- Ncell, Gham Power Nepal
15. Best E-Commerce Service
- Docomo Digital
- Voyager's Virtual E-Commerce Marketplace platform
- XL Axiata DigiBiz
16. Best OTT Video Service
- Iflix
- Netflix
- Oksusu, SK Telecom
- Viu, PCCW Media
17. Most Innovative Voice Service
- YTL Communications: VoLTE
- Reliance Jio: VoLTE
- SK Telecom: WebRTC
- SmarTone: multi-device WiFi calling
18. Best International Wholesale Carrier
- BT Global
- China Telecom Global
- Colt Technology Service
- Hutchison Global Communications (HGC)
- Global Cloud Xchange
- NTT Communications
- Telstra
- Telekom Malaysia (TM)
19. Best Managed Services Provider
- BT Global
- CITIC Telecom CPC
- Colt Technology Service
- NTT Communications
- Global Cloud Xchange
- Singtel
- Telstra
20. Best Data Center Services Provider
- AT&T
- Colt Technology Service
- Equinix
- NTT Communications
- Singtel
- Telstra
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: Lachlan Colquhoun
Group Editor, Telecom Asia, Telecomasia.net
Email: lachlanc@questexasia.com
Website: www.telecomasia.net