2019 ACOMM AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED

Category Award Winners:Telstra, Southern Phone, Speedcast, King & Wood Mallesons, Aussie Broadband, Vodafone Hutchison Australia, Telstra Foundation, NBN Co, Pivotel Satellite and Farmbot Australia, Meshed IoT, Cisco

Sydney, 16 August 2019 –The winners of the prestigious 2019 Communications Alliance Awards were announced last night at the 13th Annual ACOMM Awards Dinner in Sydney.  Attended by more than 450 industry leaders, the evening’s keynote address was delivered by the Hon. Paul Fletcher, Federal Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts.

The individual category awards were taken out by a star-studded line-up of Australian service providers - featuring long-established players and ‘new faces’.

Fay Holthuyzen took out the top award, being installed as Australian Communications Ambassador 2019, for her sustained and meritorious contribution to Australian telecommunications policy, to industry co-regulation and the protection of Australian communications consumers.

“Fay was a senior an influential figure throughout the liberalisation phase of the Australian telecoms industry, in her role as Deputy Secretary of the Federal Department of Communications,” said Communications Alliance CEO, John Stanton.

“Just as importantly, Fay has, twice during the past decade, thrown herself into what is almost certainly the most demanding and complex role in the co-regulatory sphere - as Independent Chair of the working committees that have revised industry’s Telecommunications Consumer Protection (TCP) Code.

“It is a daunting assignment, trying to pull together the views of consumer representatives, regulators, industry and the general public and create a consensus on how best to protect the interests of consumers, while retaining a workable commercial environment that promotes innovation, improved customer outcomes and ethical business practices.

“The task demands skilful navigation across a landscape that takes account of technical and business process issues as well as a vast array of vital human considerations, including the needs of vulnerable customers and less advantaged individuals throughout Australian society.

“During the two major revisions of the Code since 2011, Fay has shown masterful analytical and diplomatic skills - along with huge amounts of patience and perseverance - and has produced outstanding outcomes on both occasions.”

“The ACOMM Awards represent the pinnacle of achievement for the Australian communications industry and I congratulate all the winners and finalists in the 2019 ACOMMS,

“Excellence in innovation is a pervasive trait in the achievements of the 2019 ACOMM winners.”

The winners of the 2019 ACOMM Awards are:

• COMMUNICATIONS AMBASSADOR – Fay Holthuyzen
• Innovation - Large Company - Telstra for their Track and Monitor solution that can help businesses track moving assets, reduce costs and improve the customer experience.
• Innovation - SME – Southern Phone for their Next Home Phone product that eliminates the stress, pressure and confusion experienced by senior Australians during the copper disconnection as part of the nbnTM rollout.
• Vendor Innovation – Speedcast for their SIGMA Gateway an integrated connectivity management platform. It seamlessly manages global VSAT, L-band, Fleet Xpress, 4G/LTE, Wi-Fi and MSS services, and provides automated and efficient management of multiple secured WAN links.
• Internet of Things Start Up – Meshed IoT for their 100% private Australian owned company that provides IoT networks and operations and maintenance services for the government, water, building and construction and research sectors in Australia and New Zealand.
• Commitment to Customer Service – Aussie Broadband for their “Making it easy” initiative - Aussie Broadband’s commitment to customer service improvement is driven by the reason why they are in business – because they believe people deserve the truth, whether it paints them in a good light or not.
  Services to the Industry, Professional Services – King & Wood Mallesons with one of the largest teams of telecommunications specialists in Australia, KWM pride themselves on providing commercially astute and technically excellent legal advice.
  Best Mobile Solution – Vodafone Hutchison Australia for their market first handset plans with endless data and no lock-in contracts are offering customers true freedom and flexibility
• Community Contribution – Telstra Foundation & NBN Co
  Telstra Foundation for their IDX Flint Program, in conjunction with the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence, providing opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island youth, community leaders and Elders to explore digital technology
  NBN Co for going above and beyond to keep the community of Townsville connected during the floods, with the network via its Satellite vehicles providing a lifeline at arguably the most critical time for a community, where lives were at extreme risk.
• Satellite Provider of the Year Award – Pivotel Satellite and Farmbot Australia for Farmbot water monitoring solutions incorporating Pivotel’s satellite technology.
• Best Marketing Initiative – Cisco for their 2019 Cisco Live annual customer and partner conference, held in March 2019 in Melbourne, Australia.  Cisco Live is widely acknowledged as the premier event for education, connections and a source of inspiration for technology professionals.