IEC and Convergence World Magazine Announce Top NGN Innovators at SOFNET 08 in London

Winners of the 2008 Convergence World Awards were honored yesterday in a ceremony on the SOFNET 08 exhibition floor

LONDON – 30 April 2008 – The International Engineering Consortium (IEC) recognized the winners of the Convergence World Awards yesterday at its SOFNET 08 conference and exhibition at the Olympia National Hall.  Organized by Convergence World magazine, the awards paid tribute to some of the world’s best software and network innovations.

Increased industry interest in the awards was reflected in a record-breaking level of entries, which resulted in three ties.  The Yankee Group’s vice president of telecommunication strategies, Camille Mendler, and IEC Vice President of Conference Development Tom Costello presented the winners.

Convergence World Awards Winners 2008

Best Converged Next Generation Product or Service

iO global for iO OpenTrading™ Platform – the judges considered that this service has great potential in the future three-screen (mobile/TV/PC) market.

Best Service or Product Innovation (in the FMC, VOIP or IMS Sectors)

Broadsoft  for BroadSoft® BroadWorks Anywhere- the judges found the converged platform impressive and like the unified communications provided by this solution. 

Best Mobility Innovation or Service 

Mobyko for Mobyko – the judges liked the simplicity of the concept and operation.

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Orange Business Services for Orange Mobile Forms – this was considered to be a particularly innovative enterprise mobility tool.

Best OSS/BSS Product or Service

Telcordia Technologies for Telcordia Real-Time Charging – this solution impressed the judges with its ability to rate and manage different categories of service and bill accordingly.

Best Ethernet Advancement

Nortel for Provider Backbone Transport (PBT) - this solution takes Ethernet into the carrier core network and offers a truly end-to-end packet network.

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Redback Networks for Redback Networks SmartEdge 1200 Multi-Service Edge – the delivery of triple-play services and the scale of the service were noted by the judges.

Best Digital Home/Home Networking Product or Service

Ruckus Wireless for Ruckus Wireless MediaFlex NG for 802.11a (T-Home) - the judges commented on the attractiveness of this as a solution to consumers. 

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T-Mobile for T-Mobile HotSpot @Home – this solution was impressive in its potential to reach a number of consumers and push forward adoption.

Most Significant Telco Transformation Contribution 

Comverse for Comverse Converged Billing Suite at Utel – the judges were impressed by the network agnostic service and applauded businesses developing services in this way.

Best Open Innovation

Brightcove Inc. for Brightcove –this struck the judges as an interesting and useful software solution.

Best Green Innovation

ZTE Corporation for ZXDSL FSAP 9806H – the judges were impressed with the levels of power savings.

Best Customer Experience Innovation

BT for BT Snap and Send – the simplicity and ease of this product was applauded. 

The Convergence World Awards are endorsed by leading industry bodies such as the Fixed Mobile Convergence Alliance (FMCA) and the Wi-Fi Alliance.

The independent judging panel for the Convergence World Awards comprised Barry J. Sullivan, Ph.D. Director, Content Development at the IEC; Andrew Howarth, Program Director at the Fixed Mobile Convergence Alliance; Karen Hanley, Senior Director at the Wi-Fi Alliance, John Williamson, Editor of Convergence World and Peter Purton, Editor of Wireless Business Review.

Convergence World magazine has been the premier publication in the ICT sector since 2005 and is widely recognised as the voice of the industry.  The Convergence World Awards are designed to recognize those organizations and individuals that have made a significant contribution to the evolution of fixed-mobile convergence.

SOFNET 08 places special emphasis on the interaction of the key constituencies that are shaping the future of information and communication technology. Uniting software with hardware, SOFNET 08 explores the “softelco” transition plans and how the Web 2.0 world and traditional telcos will work together.  In addition to the educational programming, the technology exhibition features demonstrations from leading software and hardware vendors and developers, as well as IP equipment suppliers and innovators, providing an ideal opportunity to discuss new advancements and technology with key industry players.

For more information on the Convergence World Awards, contact Lydia Oakes at + 44 (0)1799 543909 or

[email protected]

For more information on SOFNET, visit www.iec.org/events/2008/sofnet or contact Lisa Reyes at [email protected]

or +1-312-559-3325.