This year’s Asia Communications Awards event was all about making connections, with winners taking home trophies for innovative services that bring consumers and business people together, apps that link end users with resources such as health and education, and the all-important network connectivity that underpins the whole industry.
And not to forget the networking that took place in a ballroom filled with 200 telecoms executives in Singapore on Wednesday evening. We were all there to hear the winners announced, of course, but making new friends over dinner and a dance act that really lit up the room added an extra layer of entertainment to proceedings.
I have to confess, some of us ‘networked’ for longer than others and as such are very much looking forward to a relaxing weekend!
Judging by the buzz in the room – we especially enjoyed the whoops and cheers from a group of exuberant Australians – a good time was had by all. But naturally those who went home with a trophy or two had the most reason to be cheerful.
The 2015 awards went particularly well for Telstra, whose recently-retired chief executive David Thodey was named CEO of the Year for his work in developing the telco’s business, both domestically and overseas, and for boosting its public image.
Telstra also picked up the award for Wholesale Operator of the Year in the most closely-fought category of 2015, narrowly beating Japan’s NTT Communications.
NTT Com got its revenge by taking home the coveted Operator of the Year trophy though, a category in which Telstra and a number of other leading lights in the Asian telecoms industry – Hutchison Global Communications, Smart Communications, and Ooredoo – were shortlisted.
The Japanese operator also won Best Enterprise Service for its Global Management One portfolio.
Singtel was a double winner too, picking up Best Brand Campaign for Dash, its mobile money service, and Satellite Operator of the Year, a new category for 2015 that we aim to build on in the coming years.
Meanwhile, Qatar-based Ooredoo was the only company to walk away with three prizes: the Connec ted Asia Award, for its MayMay healthcare app for pregnant women, the Emerging Market Initiative trophy for its ideabox start-up accelerator; and the Social Contribution Award, which went to its Indonesian business Indosat for INSPERA, a broad programme that seeks to improve the lives of women through ICT.
The judges were thrilled to award Best SME Service to CITIC Telecom CPC, the Customer Experience Initiative to Airtel Bangladesh, the Innovation Award to Chikka, Project of the Year to Global Transit, and the Green Award to StarHub.
Bahrain’s Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRA) was granted the Best Regulatory Initiative trophy for the second consecutive year after coming out on top in an industry vote, while Huawei picked up Vendor of the Year for the fifth year in a row.
Congratulations to all the winners and to the companies who made the shortlists in the various categories; I can confirm that the judging process is fierce – we’ve never actually come to blows, but sometimes it’s close – so just being named a finalist in the Asia Communication Awards is a great honour.
We at Total Telecom look forward to beginning our preparations for the 2016 Asia Communications Awards. We will be happy to welcome back all long-term participants in the awards, as well as those for whom next year will be their first.
ROLL OF HONOUR
Best Enterprise Service
NTT Communications
for Global Management One
Best SME Service
CITIC Telecom CPC
for SmartCLOUD
Customer Experience Initiative
Airtel Bangladesh
for Online Airtel Experience Centre (OAEC)
Emerging Market Initiative
Ooredoo
for ideabox
Best Brand Campaign
Singtel
for Dash
Innovation Award
Chikka
for DEvolution
Best Regulatory Initiative
TRA Bahrain
Project of the Year
Global Transit
for pan-ASEAN network
The Green Award
StarHub
for RENEW
The Social Contribution Award
Indosat
for INSPERA
The Connected Asia Award
Ooredoo Myanmar
for MayMay
Vendor of the Year
Huawei
Satellite Operator of the Year
Singtel Satellite
Wholesale Operator of the Year
Telstra
Operator of the Year
NTT Communications
CEO of the Year
David Thodey
former CEO of Telstra
