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ISPA 2003 Award Winners Announced!

Posted: 21st Feb, 2003 By: MarkJ

The UK Internet Service Providers Association (ISPA) has finally announced the winners of its 2003 industry awards.

We note that the ISPA has finally made an attempt to recognise smaller providers as well:

Consumer Division

Best Consumer Application
Winner: Freeserve SiteBuilder

The judges found that Freeserves Sitebuilder helped to break down perceived technological barriers, enabling non-technical consumers to develop an online presence.

Best Consumer Broadband Provider
Winner: Pipex

Pipex were found to be innovative in price reductions. The Pipex ADSL offering provides a good access level price for consumers requiring an all in one package to access the Internet with a high-speed connection.

Best Unmetered ISP
Winner: Freeserve

Freeserves unmetered access was thought to give consumers value-for-money access and services, good customer support and the flexibility of not being tied into a contract.

Best National Consumer ISP
Winner: One.Tel.

The judges highlighted the penny per minute access tariff and the Centrica influenced bundling of telephony services to provide diverse and good value Internet services to consumers.

Business Division

Best Small or Niche Market ISP
Winner: West Dorset Internet.

The judges saw that not only was West Dorset Internet small, but it also served a particular niche market. WDI uses wireless masts to deliver broadband to rural areas, a business regarded as both innovative and challenging by the judges.

Best Business Application
Winner: JetSet from Community Internet.

The judges found JetSet an effective application to enable business travellers to prepay for their online time so they can dial-up to the Internet in over 150 countries without changing ISP.

Best Small Business ISP
Winner: Fastnet

Fastnet were seen to be a company dedicated to transparent pricing and dynamic enough to tailor their services to individual small businesses.

Best Business Broadband Provider
Winner: Eclipse Internet.

Eclipses resource commitment to research and development and customer service impressed the judges, as did their commitment to offering important value added services, such as virtual private network solutions.

Best National Business ISP
Winner: Claranet

Claranet wins this award for the second time in a row. The judges sited their continued focus on good customer service to the business community.

Industry Division

Best Hardware
Winner: Electronic Frontier

Not only did the judges admire the plug and play nature of Electronic Frontiers products, they also highlighted good customer service. The levels of support offered were found to reduce the time needed for internal training.

Best Broadband Supplier
Winner: West Dorset Internet

The difficulty of getting broadband to rural areas prompted the judges to award this very small operation. WDI was described as a gutsy company providing an alternative to broadband provision and bypassing local loop unbundling.

Best Co-Location Provider
Winner: Telecity

The judges made much of Telecitys facilities outside of the docklands. Telecity was found to have carrier notions and performed to the best standards. They were regarded as competent and easy to deal with.

Best Carrier
Winner: Cable and Wireless

Good transit times, global reach, operating their own network and competitive pricing for national transit prompted the judges to choose Cable and Wireless as the Best Carrier.

Best Search Engine
Winner: Google

The judges found Google to offer good, profitable partnerships. Its clean results and editorial policy of not selling rankings make it a useful tool for end users, so good for ISPs to partner with.

Internet Watch Foundation Award for Developments in Online Safety
Winner: Childnet International for Kidsmart

Kidsmart uses a roadshow, lesson and classroom activity plans, drama scripts, online role playing, leaflets and posters, a seminar for parents and an effective website to communicate to children, parents and teachers about being safe on the internet.

Internet Hero
Winner: Richard Allan MP

Richard Allan MP for Sheffield Hallam wins this award for his ongoing support and understanding of the Internet and the Internet industry.

Internet Villain
Winner: The Home Office

The Home Office wins this award for the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security (ATCS) Act and continued delays associated with the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA).