The Light Reading team is proud to announce the finalists for this year's Leading Lights awards -- and it's quite the line-up!

Figure 1:

Hundreds of entries were submitted in record time. Now those entries have been vetted and judged and we have the finalists. The Leading Lights winners and the identities of the latest Hall of Fame inductees will be announced at the Leading Lights awards dinner, which will be held during the evening of Tuesday, October 1 at The Out in New York City, one of the trendiest hotels in the world, according to Fodor. (For more details, see Leading Lights 2013.)

And for those still in fit shape after the awards party, the Ethernet & SDN Expo takes place at the Javits Center on October 2–3. (Check out the agenda and all the details right here.)

So, who's in the running to receive a Leading Lights award?

Below are the categories for this year's awards. Click on the name of the category to see the list of finalists. In the coming days the Light Reading team will write about the shortlists and provide some insight into the shortlisted submissions.

Best New Product (Cable)
Awarded to the company that has developed a potentially market-leading product that, through engineering and technical excellence, enables the deployment of profitable next-generation cable services.

Best New Product (Mobile)
Awarded to the company that has developed a potentially market-leading product that, through engineering and technical excellence, enables the deployment of profitable next-generation mobile services.

Best New Product (Telecom)
Awarded to the company that has developed a potentially market-leading product that, through engineering and technical excellence, enables the deployment of profitable next-generation telecom services.

Most Innovative Ethernet/Optical Service
Awarded to the communications service provider (cable, fixed, mobile) that has launched the most innovative Carrier Ethernet or optical transport service for its customers during the past year.

Most Innovative Carrier Cloud Service
Awarded to the communications service provider (cable, fixed, mobile) that has launched the most innovative Carrier Cloud service (SaaS, IaaS, PaaS) for its customers during the past year.

Most Innovative 4G Service
Awarded to the mobile operator that has launched the most innovative 4G LTE service for its customers during the past year.

Most Innovative Carrier WiFi Deployment
Awarded to the communications service provider (cable, fixed, mobile) that has launched the most innovative carrier-class WiFi service for its customers during the past year.

Most Innovative SMB Service
Awarded to the communications service provider (cable, fixed, mobile) that has launched the most innovative business service for small or medium-sized corporate users during the past year.

Most Innovative Enterprise Service
Awarded to the communications service provider (cable, fixed, mobile) that has launched the most innovative business service for enterprise corporate users during the past year.

Company of the Year (Private)
Awarded to the privately held firm that stands out among its competitors, innovates constantly, makes investors proud, and makes employees happy.

Company of the Year (Public)
Awarded to the publicly listed firm that stands out among its competitors, innovates constantly, makes investors proud, and makes employees happy.

Best Deal Maker
Awarded to the company that has consistently demonstrated good timing, judgment, and execution in high-profile acquisitions, partnerships, joint ventures, and other multi-company financial arrangements.

Light Reading Hall of Fame
There is no shortlist for the Light Reading Hall of Fame, which seeks to recognize several individuals -- the famous and infamous -- for their remarkable contributions to the sector. The inductees will be named (and a few shamed) at the awards dinner. But look out for the upcoming poll on some of the names under consideration.

— The Editors, Light Reading

Here are the finalists in the Best New Product (Cable) category.

Next page: Best New Product (Mobile)

Here are the finalists in the Best New Product (Mobile) category.

Next page: Best New Product (Telecom)

Here are the finalists in the Best New Product (Telecom) category.

Next page: Most Innovative Ethernet/Optical Service.

Here are the finalists in the Most Innovative Ethernet/Optical Service category.

Next page: Most Innovative Carrier Cloud Service.

Here are the finalists in the Most Innovative Carrier Cloud Service category.

Next page: Most Innovative 4G Service.

Here are the finalists in the Most Innovative 4G Service category.

Next page: Most Innovative Carrier WiFi Deployment.

Here are the finalists in the Most Innovative Carrier WiFi Deployment category.

Next page: Most Innovative SMB Service.

Here are the finalists in the Most Innovative SMB Service category.

Next page: Most Innovative Enterprise Service.

Here are the finalists in the Most Innovative Enterprise Service category.

Next page: Company of the Year (Private).

Here are the finalists in the Company of the Year (Private) category.

Next page: Company of the Year (Public).

Here are the finalists in the Company of the Year (Public) category.

Next page: Best Deal Maker.

Here are the finalists in the Best Deal Maker category.

Click here to go back to the introduction.