Smart, SingTel and SKT win Asia's top telecom prizes

TELECOM ASIA AWARDS 2012 WINNERS

Best Asian Telecom Carrier - SingTel

Telecom CEO of the Year - Napoleon Nazareno (Smart Communications)

Best Mobile Carrier - SK Telecom

Best Broadband Carrier - Telekom Malaysia

Best Regional Mobile Group - SingTel

Best Managed Ser

vices Provider - BT Global Services

Best International Wholesale Carrier - Pacnet

Best Emerging Market Carrier - Smart Communications

Best Community Telecom Project- Smart Communications (for SHINE)

Most Innovative Telecom Project - KDDI (for A-Fund)

Best Cloud-based Service - Verizon Enterprise Solutions

The SingTel Group, Philippines mobile operator Smart Communications and Korea's SK Telecom were awarded the top awards in the 15th Telecom Asia Awards last night. Executives from 11 award-winning companies from across the Asia-Pacific region were presented with their trophies in a ceremony at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Bangkok yesterday.

SingTel, short listed in seven categories by the nominating judges, won the Best Asian telecom Carrier trophy and SK Telecom won the Best Mobile Carrier category, both operators impressing the judges for their “focus on innovation and for building capacity and network assets across the region”.

Smart's president and CEO Napoleon Nazareno was voted Telecom CEO of the Year for his performance at the helm of Smart, which claimed Best Emerging Market Carrier while its m-health program, SHINE (Secured Health Information Network and Exchange) won the Best Community Telecom Project category. Nazareno also gave the opening keynote at Telecom Asia's Telco Strategies conference.

“All of our innovations are the results of Smart's continuing efforts to rovide relevant, convenient and accessible services to our diverse subscriber base. Being a finalist in not just one, but in four categories, is already a major achievement for the company and for the country. This international recognition shows that the telecommunications industry in the Philippines is dynamic, advanced and world-class,” said Nazareno.

The SingTel group also won the Best Regional Mobile Group award. The other winners were Telekom Malaysia for Best Broadband Carrier, BT Global Services for Best Managed Services Provider, Pacnet for Best International Wholesale Carrier, KDDI's A-Fund for Most Innovative Telecom Project and Verizon Enterprise Solutions for Best Cloud-based Service.

Per Dahlberg, chairman of the judging panel, said the awards recognize achievement and leadership in Asian telecommunications, with an emphasis on innovation and financial performance.

“The telecom industry in Asia is facing considerable challenges. With a slowdown in revenue growth and tighter margins, operators have to improve efficiency and control costs within their businesses while creating innovative, non-price advantages over the competition.

“The winners were chosen because they've demonstrated the ability to balance effective management with creating new opportunities for themselves and to execute on it.

I congratulate the winners of this year's awards. I also thank the members of the judging panel for their hard work and their insights into Asian telecom markets,” Dahlberg said.

Telecom Asia is Asia's largest regional telecom publishing group. It publishes the magazine Telecom Asia and the website www.telecomasia.net, aimed at telecommunications professionals around the region. Combined, these titles serve more than 100,000 subscribers.