Wi-Fi Global Congress – San Francisco, US – 9th October 2014 – The Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA), the industry association focused on driving the next generation Wi-Fi experience, today announced the winners of the WBA Wi-Fi Industry Awards 2014. The awards recognize Wi-Fi innovations by operators, vendors, device manufacturers and new ventures within the industry. The awards were presented today at a gala awards dinner and networking event at Wi-Fi Global Congress in San Francisco.

The awards were open to the entire industry and judged independently of the WBA by a panel of highly distinguished analysts and industry experts, led by Peter Jarich, Research Director, Service Provider Infrastructure Practice, Current Analysis. The awards attracted entries from vendors and operators from across the world encompassing the whole public Wi-Fi ecosystem. The Chairman Awards are voted for separately by WBA Members and recognize the outstanding contributions that have been driving key initiatives in the Wi-Fi ecosystem over the past 12 months.

The winners are

  1. Best Next Generation Hotspot (NGH) Initiative Award
    SK Telecom – NGH Deployment and Innovative Solutions by SK Telecom
  2. Best Wi-Fi Service Innovation Award
    Fon – Gramofon: Social Music + Social Wi-Fi
  3. Best Wi-Fi Technology Innovation Award
    Qualcomm – Qualcomm® VIVETM with Multi-User MIMO
  4. Most Innovative Hotspot Venue Award
    Fira de Barcelona & Cisco – Fira de Barcelona and Cisco Deliver One of the World’s Largest Carrier-Grade Wi-Fi Networks to 85,000 Mobile World Congress Attendees
  5. Best Next Generation Wi-Fi Device/ Application Award
    Syniverse & Samsung – Syniverse and Samsung deliver a first-of-its kind Wi-Fi Roaming Solution in Indonesia
  6. Best New Venture Award
    Mimosa

The winners of the Chairman Awards are

  1. Operator Category
    Orange
  2. Technology Partner Category
    BSG Wireless

“The stellar quality of the shortlisted projects for this year’s Wi-Fi Industry Awards made selecting the winners a difficult task for everyone on the judging panel. Every shortlisted entry demonstrated that Wi-Fi CAN no longer be ignored. Just as important, the entries signalled that Wi-Fi IS no longer being ignored. Particularly encouraging was the raft of Next Generation Hotspot Deployments that emerged across the globe over the past 12 months, thanks to an increase in collaborative activity and a high level of innovation currently occurring across the industry. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the winners on their fantastic achievements and look forward to seeing these projects inspire further innovation in the future,” said Peter Jarich, VP, Consumer and Infrastructure, Current Analysis.

You can find full details about the WBA Wi-Fi Industry Awards and Categories at – wballiance.com/awards