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Singapore plays host as Total Telecom celebrates the success of the region’s best and brightest.
A brass marching band was on hand on Wednesday to herald Total Telecom’s return to Singapore to present the seventh annual Asia Communication Awards.
What’s more, the country’s most flamboyant TV personality, Hossan Leong, was also back as master of ceremonies, looking resplendent in a sparkly-gold dinner jacket.
It might not have been what our audience of esteemed telecoms executives expected, but when it comes to succeeding in today’s industry, they know as well as anyone to expect the unexpected.
Total Telecom’s chair of judges for the ACAs summed it up best:
"Alongside the technological and business transformations of the last decade, there are also the changing expectations and changing behaviours of customers to consider," said Janet Watkin, CEO of customer experience management consultancy Ocean82, in her welcome address.
"Customers expect processes to be faster and more agile, giving rise to products and services that more effectively meet their needs and are more affordable too," she said.
"The successful development, deployment and marketing of desirable products that make the customer’s life better in some way or other, is the master key to unlocking a future of sustainable growth for your business."
And that’s a big part of what the ACAs is all about: recognising those players in Asia’s telco sector that have fashioned their own master key, and that have unlocked that potential.
Japan’s NTT Communications was one of the biggest winners on the night, taking home no fewer than three trophies: The Connected Asia Award; the fiercely-contested Wholesale Operator of the Year; and the coveted Operator of the Year.
Huawei’s effort to develop its SoftCOM cloud-based network architecture was rewarded, when it scooped the Innovation Award: Vendor category. The Chinese kit maker also emerged victorious in the Vendor Initiative of the Year category, and the Green Technology Award for its smart street lighting solution, which cuts the amount of energy consumed by street lamps by up to 80%.
Smart Communications of the Philippines was a double-award winner. It won Best Brand Campaign for its Welcome Change campaign, and Digital Service Provider of the Year, which rewards those telcos that have made a concerted effort to move beyond connectivity and take on the role of their customers’ digital life partner.
Meanwhile, Globe Telecom’s Ernest Cu was voted as CEO of the Year by Total Telecom readers. Since his appointment in April 2009, Cu has overseen a sweeping transformation of the Filipino telco’s networks and IT infrastructure.
There were also winning entries from India’s Airtel Business, Australian incumbent Telstra, Far EasTone of Taiwan, Ooredoo Myanmar, and Singapore’s Singtel. See below for the full roll of honour, and click here to download the online edition of the ACA Winners Magazine, "Top Brass".
"The ACAs have once again seen a step up in terms of both the quality and quantity of entries," noted Total Telecom’s managing director, Rob Chambers. "Participation from countries as diverse as Brunei, the Maldives, Myanmar, New Zealand and Taiwan shows that the entire region is delivering outstanding communication solutions, changing lives and driving economic prosperity."
And what better way to celebrate the richness, diversity, and success of the region’s telcos, than with a brass band and a man wearing a sparkly-gold dinner jacket?
ROLL OF HONOUR
Best Brand Campaign
Smart Communications
Best Customer Care: Consumer
Far EasTone
Best Customer Care: Business
Telekom Malaysia R&D
Best Emerging Market Initiative
Airtel Business
Best Enterprise Service
Telstra
Best Network Transformation Initiative
Ooredoo Myanmar
Project of the Year
PCCW Global
The Smart Cities Award
Indosat Ooredoo
(Highly commended: Chunghwa Telecom)
The Connected Asia Award
NTT Communications
(Highly commended: Indosat Ooredoo)
The Innovation Award: Operator
Telkomtelstra
The Innovation Award: Vendor
Huawei
(Highly commended: Temasys)
The Social Contribution Award
Mahindra Comviva
The Green Technology Award
Huawei
Satellite Operator of the Year
Singtel
Vendor Initiative of the Year
Huawei
Wholesale Operator of the Year
NTT Communications
Digital Service Provider of the Year
Smart Communications
Operator of the Year
NTT Communications
CEO of the Year
Ernest Cu, Globe Telecom
The Asia Communication Awards is just one of three awards ceremonies organised every year by Total Telecom. Later this year, Total Telecom will host the Carriers World Awards, and the prestigious World Communication Awards.
