Finalists from 14 APAC markets vie for 21st Telecom Asia Awards

Hong Kong, May 18, 2018 – Telecom Asia has released the shortlist for its 21^st annual Telecom Asia Awards. This year’s shortlist – which features 54 nominated companies across 14 Asia-Pacific markets – reflects an industry in a constant state of change.

Leading the list of finalists this year is Singtel, with nominations in nine categories. Following close behind is SK Telecom with nominations in seven categories. China Telecom, Globe Telecom, Global Cloud XChange and HGC Communications secured four each.

But not all finalists are established regional brands. Indonesia’s Indosat Ooredoo picked up five nominations.

This year’s awards also features six new categories: Best 5G Technology Trailblazer, Best Customer Service, Best NFV/SDN Implementation, Most Innovative IoT Project, Most Innovative Network Transformation Initiative and Most Innovative Smart Cities Project. The addition of these new categories reflect the rapidly evolving telecoms industry landscape and the increased importance of emerging technologies like 5G, IoT and SDN/NFV to the industry.

As with 2017, this year’s shortlist features some newcomers like Optus and Indosat Ooredoo and Ooredoo Maldives, as well as non-traditional nominees, including Tencent’s WeChat Pay, Rakuten and Youku Tudou.

“The telecoms industry is at the center of disruption helping define and shape the future of what will be digital economic forces of 2018 and beyond. The finalists are, in themselves, winners because they are willing to morph their business model to reflect rapidly changing markets, and recognize that some opportunities can only be approached through creative partnerships with competitors and market players – old and new,” said Allan Tan, editor in chief, Telecom Asia.

Now on its 21^st 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.

Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on the evening of Tuesday, June 26, 2018 at Suntec Singapore. The winner of the Best Asian Telecom Carrier category – a best-of-the-best award which goes to the company receiving the most points across all categories during voting – will also be revealed on the night.

Telecom Asia Awards 2018 Finalists

1. BEST 5G TECHNOLOGY TRAIBLAER

BNET-Tech Company & 3 HK
China Mobile
NTT Docomo
KT
SK Telecom
Telstra

2. BEST BROADBAND CARRIER

China Telecom (China)
HKT (Hong Kong)
Hong Kong Broadband Network (HKBN) Group
NTT Docomo (Japan)
Telstra (Australia)
Singtel (Singapore)
SmarTone (Hong Kong)
WTT HK Limited (Hong Kong)

3. BEST CLOUD-BASED SERVICE

Equinix Cloud Exchange Fabric: ECX Fabric
Global Cloud Xchange: CLOUD X Fusion
Singapore Telecommunications Limited: Singtel Managed Cloud
WTT HK: AWS Cloud Enablement Service

4. BEST COMMUNITY TELECOM PROJECT

FINTQnologies Corp/KasamaKA
Globe Telecom/Project Lucia
Indosat Ooredoo Cyber School
SKR1M submarine cable project
ToT Pracharat Project

5. BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE

Circles.Life
Celcom Axiata Berhad
Singtel Optus Pty Ltd

6. BEST DATA CENTER SERVICES PROVIDER

Colt Data Centre Services
Equinix
Indosat Ooredoo: Data Center Services
NTT Communications
Nxtra Data (Bharti Airtel subsidiary)
PCCW Solutions Limited
Singapore Telecommunications Limited
TM One (Telekom Malaysia)

7. BEST E-COMMERCE SERVICE

Docomo Digital
SmarTone
Voyager Innovations

8. BEST EMERGING MARKET OPERATOR

Globe Telecom (Philippines)
Indosat Ooredoo (Indonesia)
Maxis (Malaysia)
Reliance Jio (India)
Smart Axiata (Cambodia)
Smart Communications (Philippines)
Telkomsel (Indonesia)

9. BEST INTERNATIONAL WHOLESALE CARRIER

Airtel Business / Airtel Global
Colt Technology Services
Global Cloud Exchange
HGC Global Communication Limited
NTT Communications
PCCW Global
Telekom Malaysia Berhad

10. BEST MANAGED SERVICES PROVIDER

CenturyLink
CITIC Telecom CPC
Colt Technology Services
Global Cloud Exchange
PCCW Solutions Limited
Singapore Telecommunications Limited
Telkomtelstra Indonesia

11. BEST MOBILE CARRIER

China Mobile (China)
NTT Docomo (Japan)
Ooredoo Maldives (Maldives)
Singtel (Singapore)
SmarTone (Hong Kong)
Telstra (Australia)

12. BEST MOBILE PAYMENT SERVICE

GCash
Ooredoo Maldives m-Faisaa
PayTM
PCCW Global's Mobile Payment Solution
Singtel Dash
WeChat Pay

13. BEST MOBILE VIRTUAL NETWORK OPERATOR

Amaysim (Australia)
Circles.Life: Liberty Wireless Pte Ltd (Singapore)
Hong Kong Broadband Network Limited (Hong Kong)
Rakuten (Japan)
redone (Malaysia)
Snail Mobile (China)

14. BEST NFV/SDN IMPLEMENTATION

China Mobile
China Telecom
NTT Communications
Singtel
SK Telecom

15. BEST OTT VIDEO SERVICE

Hooq
Iflix
SK Telecom: Oksusu Social VR
Viu, PCCW Media
Youku Tudou

16. MOST INNOVATIVE APPROACH TO ANALYTICS

China Telecom
China Unicom
Globe Telecom
Tata Communications
SK Telecom

17. MOST INNOVATIVE APPROACH TO CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

Celcom Axiata Berhad
Ooredoo Maldives: Digital Customer Experience
Singtel flagship store transformation
Singtel Optus (AUS): Future NBN CX
SK Telecom's next generation OSS

18. MOST INNOVATIVE IOT PROJECT

HGC Global Communications Limited: New eSports Online Platform
NTT Communications: IoT Platform
PCCW Solutions: Infinitum Parking & Charging solution

19. MOST INNOVATIVE NETWORK TRANSFORMATION INITIATIVE

Indosat Ooredoo
Ooredoo Myanmar
Smart Communications

20. MOST INNOVATIVE PARTNERSHIP STRATEGY

FINTQnologies Corporation's Lendr
Hutchison Telecomunications: 3InnoCity Incubation Programme

21. MOST INNOVATIVE SMART CITIES PROJECT

Indosat Ooredoo: Kota Digital
SK Telecom: Q in Korea

22. MOST INNOVATIVE TELECOM PROJECT

HGC Global Communications Limited: OTT Content Expansion Solution
Singtel Optus Pty Ltd: Project Remedy
SK Telecom: K-City Trial 5G autonomous driving

23. MOST INNOVATIVE VOICE SERVICE OR SOLUTION

Airtel Advantage: Wholesale Service Innovation
PT Telkomsel: Automatic Reverse Charging Platform
WTT: Cloud Voice

24. TELECOM CEO OF THE YEAR

Andrew Kwok, HGC Global Communications Limited
Bill Barney, Reliance Communications & Global Cloud Xchange
Chua Sock Koong, Singtel Group
Dian Siswarini, XL Axiata
Ernest Cu, Globe Telecom
Manuel V. Pangilinan, Smart Communications
Vinod Kumar, Tata Communications
Yang Jie, China Telecom

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: Allan Tan, editor in chief, Telecom Asia
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.telecomasia.net

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