World Communication Awards 2024 Celebrating Innovation & Excellence in Global Telecoms
10 December 2024 | 18:30 - 23:00 GMT | The Marriott, Grosvenor Square, London


Startup of the Year Award extended entry deadline: 9th August 2024


The main category deadline has now passed. However, the Startup of the Year Award is still open for entries and is FREE to enter for qualifying organisations.

How to Enter:

To enter the Startup of the Year Award, select the category at the top of the list below, expand the category, click ENTER NOW. You will need to register on the platform before you can complete your entry. Please complete all questions when registering.

Note: you will receive an email with a validation code which must be added to complete the registration process. Please check your junk folder. 

If you do not want to complete your entry in one sitting you can part complete your entry and come back to it later. Your information is automatically saved. Simply login again using the YOUR ACCOUNT tab in the menu to complete your entry.

To submit your entry, agree to the terms and conditions then click the CONTINUE button at the bottom of the page. If you forget your password please use the reset password link on the login page.

Who can Enter:

This category is open to all startup businesses offering services for the telecom industry or who rely on the telecom network to enable their product / service. Business areas can include (but are not limited to): AI, IoT, Cybersecurity, Cloud and Data Storage and Management, Customer Experience, GIS and Mapping, 5G, Access Solutions as well as areas like mobility and energy solutions, gaming and entertainment.

This category is open to;

  • Startup organisations founded in the last 5 years (founded no earlier than 1 January 2019)
  • Startups that are generating no more than $5M in annual revenue
  • Startups that have raised limited investment (no more than Series A funding)


Please note that the “CEO of the Year” award is not open to nominations and will be selected by the WCA judges, however you can still make suggestions for the judges to review here. The deadline to submit a CEO is also 9th August 2024.


The winners of all of the categories will be announced at the WCA gala dinner in London on 10th December 2024.


CATEGORIES 2024 

This category is open to all startup businesses offering services for the telecom industry or who rely on the telecom network to enable their product / service. Business areas can include (but are not limited to): AI, IoT, Cybersecurity, Cloud and Data Storage and Management, Customer Experience, GIS and Mapping, 5G, Access Solutions as well as areas like mobility and energy solutions, gaming and entertainment.
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STARTUP OF THE YEAR AWARD

This category is open to;

  • Startup organisations founded in the last 5 years (founded no earlier than 1 January 2019)
  • Startups that are generating no more than $5M in annual revenue
  • Startups that have raised limited investment (no more than Series A funding)

This category is open to all companies in the sector and is looking specifically for the best use of Generative AI to enhance a process within a telecom network for a CSP / operator or for an enterprise customer.
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AI EXCELLENCE AWARD

Points to consider:

  • What is the challenge you are looking to address?
  • Who are the customers and how do they benefit from GenAI in this instance?
  • Why is GenAI specifically suited to solving this issue, what benefits (financial and non-financial) and tangible improvements does it deliver?
  • What is the potential to be scaled up? Applicable to different markets?
  • How are you measuring success? Share some evidence of success.
  • How do you ensure consistent results and address any concerns over security?
  • How is your project aligned with responsible AI practices and ethical principles?

Open to CSP/operators and vendors and other partners with a named operator.

This category focuses on both CSP’s internal transformation or digital transformation they are enabling for their customers. It focuses on the transformation of business and organisational activities, processes, culture and competencies through a mix of digital technologies.

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BEST DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION PROGRAMME

Points to consider:

  • Who benefits from your digital transformation project and how?
  • How has your programme created or modified business processes, culture, and customer experiences to meet changing business and market requirements?
  • What were your over-arching goals with the programme as well as the qualitative and quantitative success criteria and evidence?
  • Who did you partner with to deliver digital transformation?
  • Outline the timeline, targets, key milestones and results for this project.
  • How did the transformation contribute to the success of the company as a whole?

Open to CSP/operators and vendors and other partners with a named operator.

The network is essential to any positive business outcomes, and in this category we are looking for ‘infrastructure first’ initiatives that address legacy environments to deliver agile networks suitable for supporting all business and customer objectives.
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BEST NETWORK TRANSFORMATION INITIATIVE

Points to consider:

  • What was the scope of your network transformation project?
  • What were your over-arching goals and how well were they met?
  • Who did you partner with for this network transformation?
  • What technology developments were integral to this initiative?
  • What evidence can you show of success, such as cost-savings, revenue generation, customer satisfaction, other KPIs?
  • What challenges did you overcome along the way?

Open to all operators / CSPs / MNOs addressing one or more emerging markets that could be described as emerging or developing, characterised by high rates of economic growth and increasing demand for connectivity and the services it can enable.

This award goes to the operator that has best addressed the customer needs of their market and overcome market specific challenges to achieve commercial success.

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BEST OPERATOR IN A GROWTH MARKET

Points to consider:

  • Who are your customers and what is your market?
  • How are you delivering above and beyond what customers might expect in your business?
  • How has your business strategy developed to address the specific market needs?
  • How do you stand out from the competition?
  • Does your network infrastructure feature any innovative approaches to suit your market?
  • Does your business make investments in infrastructure and local employment beyond that strictly required by your core communications business?

Open to all wholesale operators, including submarine cable operators, operating on a regional or global basis.

This is not about having the most customers, the largest network or highest revenue, it is about being the best!

The judges will be looking for the most innovative business models, how you have evolved your business, successful partnering strategies and how new technology deployment has supported a successful wholesale carrier business.
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BEST WHOLESALE OPERATOR

Points to consider:

  • Who are your customers and how do you differentiate from your competitors?
  • How have you diversified your traditional services portfolio to create new and profitable revenue streams?
  • How have you transformed your business to match customer expectations?
  • How have you adapted your company culture to be fit for the future?

Open to all CSP’s and other organisations involved in the provision of connectivity services to communities, including but not limited to municipalities and residential developments.

This category is looking for initiatives from organisations connecting less than 500,000 customers that have taken an innovative approach to connect or enhance connectivity to a community in terms of technology, business model or outcome achieved.
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CONNECTED COMMUNITIES AWARD

  • Who are your customers and end-users?
  • What sets you apart from your competitors when it comes to community connectivity?
  • What types of technology are you using – why are they the most suitable?
  • Is your solution scalable?
  • Do you offer any specific programmes to benefit your communities beyond connectivity?
  • Are there any unique partnerships that help you deliver community connectivity?
  • What is the business model? How do you measure success?

Open to all industry organisations: CSPs / Operators / MNOs as well as vendors, associations and other organisations.

The world is fast approaching a state of perpetual crisis with the telecommunication industry playing a crucial role on a global or local scale, addressing physical, natural or manmade crises. The winning entry will demonstrate how the organisation has responded to either an apparent and/or urgent need, utilising their skills and relationships to deliver a rapid and effective response without focus on commercial success or a long term approach to addressing a persistent state of crisis.

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CRISIS RESPONSE AWARD

Points to consider:

  • What crisis have you addressed and who benefitted from your activity?
  • What have you been able to achieve in terms of restoring service or mitigating ongoing issues?
  • How did you benefit from collective skills and expertise within your organisation?
  • Was your assistance dependent on your position as a CSP or a reappropriation of your resources in other ways?
  • How did you communicate with affected customers during and after the crisis?
  • Did you partner with anyone to address the crisis?
  • Did your assistance go beyond an immediate crisis to create a longterm solution?

Open to communication service providers (CSP) / operators and vendors and other partners with a named operator. Looking for CSP/operator selling directly or indirectly to enterprises.

Recognising the most compelling service offered in the B2B sphere by a CSP/operator selling directly or indirectly to enterprise users, such as private wireless networks, managed networks, value added services and on-demand connectivity.
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ENTERPRISE SERVICE OF THE YEAR

Points to consider:

  • What does this service do and what customer need and value does it address?
  • What technologies does it use? Why is it unique or innovative?
  • How does it fit within your wider service portfolio?
  • Who is the target market (directly/indirectly)?
  • Why is it good value for your B2B customers or partners?
  • Is your service scalable?
  • What sets it apart from other competing or similar offers?
  • Does it unlock new industry-specific use cases?

Open to all service providers / operators / MNOs.

The judges will be looking for organisations who are investing in their people and providing evidence of successfully managing the cultural change impact of digitisation. They will look for organisations who are enhancing employee’s digital skills and undertaking programs to enhance digital literacy, as well other policies to develop company culture. They will also assess how far the organisation has gone to stimulate employee journeys to help create positive customer interactions.

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PEOPLE & CULTURE AWARD

Points to address:

  • Demonstrate how you have developed a corporate culture appropriate to your business.
  • How has this benefited your customers?
  • What do they experience as a customer centric outcome?
  • How far you have progressed in transforming cultural attitudes throughout your organisation?
  • How has your organisation developed and encouraged policies and actions to promote diversity, inclusiveness and purposefulness?
  • How have you developed a customer-centric workforce equipped to meet the challenges of digital transformation?
  • Do you now put more focus on soft skills & creative intelligence?
  • What new skill sets have you developed to deliver digital transformation?

Open to service providers and mobile network operators (MNOs) as well as users and owners of private 5G networks, and vendors in partnership with a named operator or network.

This category is focused on deployed 5G networks and the judges will be looking in particular for evidence of monetisation and innovation, not just the scale of the network.
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THE 5G AWARD

Points to address:

  • Who are your target customers and how are you addressing their needs?
  • What is the business model for your 5G network and how is it evolving?
  • What are your plans for developing your 5G network?
  • Who do you work with – how have you developed an ecosystem of partners and suppliers?
  • Is your network owned by an operator/CSP or is it a private network for enterprise use?
  • Why is 5G more applicable than other forms of connectivity such as 4G or Wi-Fi?

Open to all operators or vendors in partnership with a named operator.

This award looks for clever use of technology to assist amongst others in the deployment of broadband.
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THE ACCESS INNOVATION AWARD

Points to consider:

  • Who is your customer and how have they benefited from this innovation?
  • How is it innovative & why does it stand out from competitive products and organisations?
  • What technologies have been utilised or developed?
  • How has the access offering been received by customers?
  • What are the qualitative and quantitative proof points of success?
  • How future-proof is the offering?
  • What future development plans do you have?

Open to all service providers, MNOs and other operators as well as solution providers in partnership with a named operator.

The judges are looking for the business that has developed a product or service that moves beyond the traditional connectivity-based offerings, into new business areas or new market segments.

The judges will be looking at how entrants have deployed existing assets in the building of new, non-core businesses. They will also be viewing how entrants invested in new capabilities and building partnerships to successfully develop new products and services based on leveraging existing assets, building an ecosystem business to reinforce the core, or developing marketplace businesses based on partnerships and entirely new ventures.
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THE BEYOND CONNECTIVITY AWARD

Points to consider:

  • Who benefits from this product and service and how does it move beyond your core business?
  • When was it deployed and what is the business model?
  • How are you utilising existing assets of the business such as customer data and relationships?
  • Have you established new distribution channels such as stores, e-commerce channels, or partnerships to your advantage?
  • How do you measure its success?
  • What technical and cultural capabilities have you developed to win?

Open to operators, service providers, data centres, internet exchanges, or vendors in partnership with a named operator.

This award continues to look at cloud native deployments, but also recognises the evolution of cloud to the edge. This award will look for entrants delivering agile, automated and scalable solutions and services.

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THE CLOUD AWARD

Points to consider:

  • How do customers benefit from your cloud solution?
  • What is your cloud model; public, private, hybrid or something else?
  • How have developments in technology, infrastructure and architecture impacted your offering?
  • What is unique, new or innovative about your offering?

This category is open to operators, vendors, systems integrators and other cyber security ecosystem players.

This category looks for strategies to enhance cyber security in the telecom sector and its customers, through better use of cyber threat intelligence and technologies. The judges will be looking for deployed cyber security strategies, either addressing the CSP’s own risks or as an offering for enterprise clients as a Managed Security Services Provider. The winning entry will demonstrate how its offering detects cyber threats to mitigate business impact, and drive efficiency into cybersecurity operations through an innovative approach.

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THE CYBER SECURITY AWARD

Points to consider:

  • What market does your entry address?
  • What threats are you tackling, or how does your service or technology secure or enhance the user experience?
  • Who is your target audience and why does your solution benefit the market?
  • How are you mitigating business impact of a cyber-attack?
  • Demonstrate how your innovative risk and security management approach increased trust with your customers and stakeholders.
  • Demonstrate evidence of success and impact on the market.
  • How has it aided development of new products and services?

Open to all companies including operators and CSP’s as well as ICT companies and solution providers in the telco ecosystem.

This category looks for any new technology or new application of an existing technology, including but not limited to, machine learning, blockchain, metaverse, IoT, robotics, AI, etc, which has been deployed to enable a new product or service offering or revolutionises how an existing service is offered.

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THE FUTURE AWARD

Points to consider:

  • Who are the customers you are addressing and how are they benefiting from your programme?
  • What is the technology and how is it vital to your solution?
  • Could the same outcome be achieved using a legacy solution?
  • What is your business model?
  • How are you measuring qualitative and quantitative evidence of success?
  • What is the scalability of this technology?

Open to operators or any ecosystem company delivering an outstanding platform strategy for the telecom sector.

This award looks at the successful orchestration of service offerings from a diverse supplier base to successfully offer new service bundles.
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THE PLATFORM AWARD

Points to consider:

  • Who are your customers and how do they benefit from your platform programme?
  • How has your platform strategy made you more competitive in the digital economy?
  • How have you taken service offerings from a diverse supplier base, and created new service bundles? How scalable is your strategy? What new products and services has it enabled, including apps and IoT?

Open to all organisations involved in the provision of non-terrestrial networks, including LEO, MEO and GEO satellite operators as well as spaceports, ground stations and the ecosystem of companies supporting their provision.

The judges are looking for innovation in the satellite ecosystem which may be provision of a specific service, or the way a satellite service integrates into complex networks involving fibre, microwave, wireless and mobile technologies.
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THE SATELLITE TELECOMS AWARD

Points to consider:

  • Who are the customers addressed by your satellite service?
  • Why is a satellite solution most suitable in this environment?
  • What type of satellite technology are you utilising?
  • What is the business model for this technology? Present some measurable proof points of success.
  • How many customers are using / trialling the solution?
  • Is a satellite solution scalable in your market sector?

Open to all fixed and mobile operators.

Effectively this is a ‘Telecoms4Good’ award, recognising the organisation that can demonstrate how they take an innovative approach to addressing social responsibility or narrowing the digital divide. The judges are looking for the most innovative approaches. Not just organisations that offer a product or service that offers positive social benefits but also recognising the most creative ways to address social responsibility or narrow the digital divide.

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THE SOCIAL CONTRIBUTION AWARD

Points to consider:

  • Who has benefited from your activities and how have they experienced this benefit?
  • What do you understand the term, ‘social contribution’ to mean, in the context of your organisation?
  • How are you measuring the success of your initiatives?
  • Which tangible, positive impact have these projects or initiatives delivered?
  • How have you brought a creative approach to the problem?

Open to all operators and service providers or partnerships between suppliers and a named operator.

Sustainability and especially the subjects of energy usage and net zero are now board-level issues. This trend is driven by factors such as concerns about the environmental impact of infrastructure and the growing demand for energy-efficient technologies like traceability, analytics and renewable energy. The judges will be looking for CSP’s own sustainability initiatives and also how they are enabling customers to reduce carbon emissions / get closer to net zero.
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THE SUSTAINABILITY AWARD

Points to consider:

  • Who are your customers and how are you helping them on their net zero journey?
  • How have you gone beyond a CSR ‘tick-the-box’ type of exercises?
  • Show some tangible measurable results of your solution.
  • What are your future sustainability plans and how scalable are they?
  • How did you, or will you, become a sustainability industry leader and how will it improve your carbon zero reputation with your customers and stakeholders?
  • Are you developing new sustainable technology frameworks that increases the energy & material efficiency of IT services?
  • Are you enabling enterprise sustainability through technologies like traceability, analytics or renewable energy?

Open to all providers of IT and telecoms services.

This category has its foundations in outstanding customer experience, but we are seeking a holistic approach to CX as a guiding principle, supported by employee, partner and/or user experience to deliver positive business outcomes including customer satisfaction, cultural and transformative change, innovation, great product/service quality and enhanced brand loyalty.
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TOTAL EXPERIENCE AWARD

Points to consider:

  • Who are your customers and end-users?
  • Beyond CX metrics, what sets you apart from your competitors when it comes to total excellence?
  • What have you done to materially change the company culture regarding your customers, your management approaches and operations that impact your customers?
  • Demonstrate how you are customer-obsessed and how you proactively manage your customers?
  • Can you clearly distinguish between product innovation and real improvement in customer experience?
  • How do you use technology to interact and engage with your customers and employees, how do you measure the impact of your initiatives?
  • Can you demonstrate multi-experience capabilities (i.e. the user's whole experience across a variety of digital and human touchpoints)?

Open to all women who have stood out within the telecom industry for individual achievement and contribution, regardless of the type or size of organisation they work for: CSP/MNO/supplier.
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WOMAN IN TELECOMS AWARD

Points to consider:

  • Why does the candidate stand out in the industry?
  • Who have they been transformational to? (Eg. Customers, colleagues, peers etc.)
  • How have they gone above and beyond what might be expected by their role?
  • How have they assisted the development of others, for example through mentoring programmes?

This award is determined exclusively by the judges of the World Communication Awards who will nominate the candidates and collectively agree on the winner. This award will be determined exclusively by the judges of the World Communication Awards. Nominations have been put forward by both WCA judges and the industry. The judges will collectively agree on the winner, and will seek a widely admired CEO from the industry who has stood out within the telecom industry for individual achievement and leadership contribution, regardless of the type of organisation they work for: CSP/MNO/supplier.
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