Hong Kong, March 8, 2016 – Telecom Asia today announced the finalists in its 19th Telecom Asia Awards, with 12 judges nominating their top choices in 14 out of 18 categories.
This year’s shortlist – which features 42 nominated companies across 14 Asia-Pacific markets – sees strong representations of innovation from both developed and emerging markets, with the most diverse field of entrants yet in the history of the awards.
Telstra leads the pack this year with five nominations, along with HKT, which also scored five nominations across three different business units. BT Global Services and Global Cloud Xchange both picked up four nominations. Close behind are Globe Telecom, KT, NTT Communications and Telekom Malaysia with three nominations each.
Another nine operators scored two nominations each across a wide variety of categories, including Bharti Airtel, FarEasTone, Hutchison Global Communications, Indosat Ooredoo, Maxis, Singtel, SK Telecom, Telkomsel and Ufone.
This year’s shortlist also features a number of new faces thanks to two new categories: Best MVNO and Best OTT Video Service. Nominated MVNOs include Amaysim, redOne, Snail Mobile, TuneTalk and Xiaomi’s Mi Mobile, while OTT video nominees include newcomers Hooq and iflix, as well as PCCW Media’s Viu.
And to showcase the dramatically shifting nature of the Asia-Pacific telecoms space, this year’s shortlist features some decidedly non-traditional nominees, including Alibaba, Facebook and Google.
“This year’s shortlist really is a reflection of the digital paradigm shift impacting the Asia-Pacific telecoms sector,” said Telecom Asia editor in chief John Tanner. “We have OTT players stepping in to bring added competition, and yet established players are still holding their own on the innovation front. Even MVNOs have become viable players and drivers of innovation in their own right.”
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 that goes to the company receiving the most points across all categories during voting.
Now in its 19th 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 are held in conjunction with Telecom Asia's 7th annual Telco Strategies conference. The theme for 2016 is “Transformation Roadmap for the Digital Economy”.
Final selection is made by an independent panel of industry experts, who will cast votes on the basis of innovation, financial performance, technology, market leadership and corporate governance. Winners will be notified in April. The awards will be presented at a ceremony on May 18 in Kuala Lumpur.