The call to enter the third WBA Wi-Fi Industry Awards has begun and the Alliance is already receiving submissions for the 2014 accolades to be announced at the Wi-Fi Global Congress in San Francisco on 9th October. These awards will recognize and celebrate the culture of achievement across the Wi-Fi industry over the past 12 months where the categories will focus on innovation in services, devices and technologies, which have collectively enabled the remarkable progress of the Carrier Wi-Fi ecosystem that we see today.

Once again a panel of highly distinguished analysts and independent industry experts will be responsible for judging the awards. They include: Caroline Gabriel (Maravedis-Rethink Technology Research), Daryl Schoolar (Ovum), Ken Rehbehn (Yankee Group), Peter Jarich (Current Analysis), Joe Madden (Mobile Experts) and Chris Nicoll (Analysys Mason).

Last year’s awards showcased an extremely high calibre of entries from across the world encompassing the whole public Wi-Fi ecosystem. This was boosted by the fact that Carrier Wi-Fi was, and still is, experiencing a boom in interest which inspired a flurry of innovation in the industry.

Last year’s winners were:

  • Best Next Generation Hotspot (NGH) Initiative
    KT – Next Generation Hotspot by KT
  • Best Wi-Fi Service Innovation Award
    SK Telecom – Giga Wi-Fi service by SK Telecom
  • Best Wi-Fi Technology Innovation Award
    Ericsson – Real-Time Traffic Steering
  • Most Innovative Hotspot Venue Award
    China Mobile – WLAN in Poverty-Rural Areas
  • Best Next Generation Wi-Fi Device/ Application Award
    Fon – The new Fonera: a social Wi-Fi router
  • Best New Venture Award
    BandwidthX – BandwidthX: Introducing a Wi-Fi Market

Two members of the 2013 judging panel give their views on last year’s winners and what their achievements will mean for the industry and the development of Wi-Fi going forward:

Caroline Gabriel – Maravedis-Rethink Technology Research
“What was especially apparent from last year’s winners was how the ecosystem is now pulling together to drive the technology forward, KT and NTT DOCOMO engaging in the world’s first roaming commercial service for example. KT shone through as a true pioneer of the Next Generation Hotspot through a large scale NGH deployment of 39,000 access points, interworking testing with two handset manufacturers and engaging in roaming agreements with five global operators. The integration of Wi-Fi and cellular networks was also a prominent theme and Ericsson demonstrated that the challenges operators face can be easily overcome with the right scalable platform. There is a continual race between operators to blanket regions with Wi-Fi hotspots and China Mobile undoubtedly dominates this arena. Last year, the operator deployed an incredible 170,000 access points across a rural area delivering a valuable resource to communities in impoverished areas. Each winning project demonstrated how innovation and collaboration can revolutionize how we perceive Wi-Fi today.”

Peter Jarich – Current Analysis
“This was my second opportunity to be a judge for these awards; once again, I was impressed at how well the awards reflected the innovation occurring in the industry, including large operators and vendors, as well as smaller players in the ecosystem. I led the judging one of the new categories, Best Next Generation Wi-Fi Device/ Application Award, which was won by FON. This well-known brand has proven popular with operators and consumers, alike, and the move to extend the functionality of its routers with an “open” aspect has yet again pushed the creative and engineering boundaries of WiFi. Separately, SK Telecom and its Giga Wi-Fi service stood out as a clear example of Wi-Fi Service Innovation by successfully combining an early 802.11ac deployment with Next Generation Hotspot elements and service roaming, a move that nearly every judge on the panel saw as the right direction for Wi-Fi services. The Best New Venture Award was another newcomer to the category, deservedly won by BandwidthX for an innovative platform enabling MNOs and Wi-Fi hotspot providers to trade Wi-Fi capacity and promote Wi-Fi development. Looking back at last year, an obvious thread of innovation runs through all these winning projects. I fully expect this year’s entries to continue the trend.”

The deadline for WBA Wi-Fi Industry Awards submissions is Monday 28thJuly 2014. To enter, visit https://wballiance.com/awards