Comment (13)Light Reading has launched its annual awards program, the Leading Lights, and to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the telecom industry's gongs we've made it even bigger and better.
Following the major success of the 2013 awards, which saw some of the industry's top names pick up trophies at a gala dinner in New York City that was hosted by a human chicken -- see Leading Lights Soiree Snaps -- we've added some additional categories and co-located the awards dinner/party with the Big Telecom Event (BTE) (June 17/18 at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers).
The new categories are for companies active in Components, Test & Measurement and OSS/BSS -- the "unsung" sectors of the industry. Over the years we have had many entries in the "best new product" categories from companies in these sectors, but they often get swamped by the entries of the larger systems vendors: Now they have a chance to shine in their own categories.
So, in total, we have 16 categories this year. They are:
- Best New Product (Cable)
- Best New Product (Mobile)
- Best New Product (Telecom)
- Most Innovative SMB Service
- Most Innovative Enterprise Service
- Most Innovative 4G Service
- Most Innovative Carrier WiFi Deployment
- Most Innovative Carrier Cloud Service
- Most Innovative Ethernet/Optical Service
- Most Innovative Video Service
- Outstanding Components Vendor *NEW*
- Outstanding Test & Measurement Vendor *NEW*
- Outstanding OSS/BSS Vendor *NEW*
- Company of the Year (Private)
- Company of the Year (Public)
- Best Deal Maker
You can see who won the awards in 2013, get a feel for the kind of evening we enjoyed in October 2013, and find out how the Leading Lights experience is a lasting one thanks to the amazing prizes we gave away last year, by checking out the following slideshows, videos, and articles:
- Light Reading Announces 2013 Leading Lights Winners
- Leading Lights Happy Hour
- Leading Lights Soiree Snaps
- Leading Lights Awards Winners Photo Call
- Leading Lights 2013 Winners Video
- Leading Lights 2013 Highlights
- What Are They Smoking at Transmode?
- Cyan Embraces the Bashful Yeti
In addition to these categories, Light Reading also has its Hall of Fame, which recognizes those individuals, both the famous and the infamous, who have made a notable contribution to the global telecom sector. As always, we're looking for nominations that can help us decide which heroes and villains should be inducted this year.
To see who joined the Hall of Fame in 2013, and find out why John D'Ambrosia was inducted, check out these videos and articles:
- Hall of Fame 2013
- Light Reading Announces 2013 Hall of Fame Inductees
- John D'Ambrosia's Ethernet Wow Moments
For anyone that may be wondering about the timing of this year's awards, then you're right -- they're happening earlier than usual, so we can celebrate the industry luminaries at the inaugural Big Telecom Event (BTE). That means anything that's happened since April 1, 2013 (a product launch, service launch, network rollout, acquisition) is eligible.
Now all you have to do is enter! See the links below to help you find the information you need: Deadline for entries is Monday April 7 (following an extension from the original deadline of March 31).
- To get more information, see the Leading Lights 2014 page.
- To enter, visit this page.
- For additional information, see our Leading Lights FAQ sheet.
If you have any further questions, please use the message boards below or email us at [email protected] and write "Leading Lights 2014 question" in the subject line of your email.
— Ray Le Maistre, 
, Editor-in-Chief, Light Reading
