NEW YORK -- The winners of this year's Leading Lights awards were named Wednesday night at a gala dinner held at the Hilton New York. Having survived Hurricane Sandy, the 2012 election, and a new nor'easter that blew in Wednesday afternoon, the attendees were in a mood to celebrate.

Following are the winners in this year's 2012 Leading Lights:

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.

• Intel Corp. (Nasdaq: INTC)'s Puma 6

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.

• Tekelec 's Diameter Signaling Router 3.0

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.

• Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU)'s 7950 XRS Core Router

Best New Service or Application (Cable)
Awarded to the company that has deployed a potentially market-leading, revenue-generating service or application that enhances the use of next-generation communications technology in the cable network.

• Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK)'s X1 Platform

Best New Service or Application (Mobile)
Awarded to the company that has deployed a potentially market-leading, revenue-generating service or application that enhances the use of next-generation communications technology in the mobile network.

• Sprint Corp. (NYSE: S)'s Single Source Enablement

Best New Service or Application (Telecom)
Awarded to the company that has deployed a potentially market-leading, revenue-generating service or application that enhances the use of next-generation communications technology in the wireline network.

• XO Communications Inc. 's 100G service

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

• Cyan Inc.

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.

• tw telecom inc. (Nasdaq: TWTC)

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.

• Ericsson AB (Nasdaq: ERIC)

Hall of Fame
Our third annual inductees to Light Reading's Hall of Fame were announced Wednesday night as well. The Light Reading Hall of Fame seeks to recognize individuals for their reputation and notoriety in the field of next-generation telecommunications.

Recipients of this award either have been influential leaders, made stellar contributions in a particular technology, and made the industry proud, or they have shown an outrageous lack of decorum, ethical standards, and decency and brought the industry into disrepute.

The famous and infamous individuals we have inducted in 2012 are ... well, why don't you watch the video?

Congratulations to all the finalists for this year's Leading Lights Awards. Picking winners from such an extraordinary group was no easy task, but we think our choices show the unique talent and remarkable potential possessed by the companies and individuals building the communications systems, networks and devices of tomorrow.

— The Editors, Light Reading