Recognising outstanding automation & AI innovation that changes the way future networks function and operate

Congratulations to the 2023 winners & finalists

The Operator Award

The best example of an automation deployment (for operators or joint operators & vendors)

Winner: China Mobile in collaboration with Huawei and their Digital Twin Solutions for Autonomous Networks

Finalists:

  • BT Group in collaboration with Blue Planet, a Division of Ciena and their Automating Next Generation Broadband Services
  • Deutsche Telekom in collaboration with Juniper & HPE and their Telco Cloud Automation
  • Telefonica SA with VIVO’s TEMS, the Telefonica Event Management System 
  • TELUS and their Enhanced Areas of Concern Project
  • Telenor and Partners with their end-to-end automated deployment solution with 5G Standalone Core

 

The Network Disaggregation Award

The best example of a disaggregated networking solution

Winner: Rakuten Symphony and their cloud-native Open RAN software in collaboration with Rakuten Mobile

Finalists:

  • Cohere Technologies and their Universal Spectrum Multiplier Solution
  • Juniper Networks and their RIC Platform
  • Netcracker Technology and their Open RAN Automation solution
  • VMware and the Open RAN Framework in collaboration with WWT, Mavenir, and HPE

 

The Orchestration Award

The most innovative automated service orchestration solution

Winner: Inmanta and their Mobile Private Networks Orchestrator Solution

Finalists:

  • Amdocs and their automated B2B service fulfilment and orchestration solution
  • Comarch and their AI-driven intelligent orchestration solution
  • Netcracker Technology and Netcracker Service Orchestration
  • Rakuten Symphony and SymcloudTM
  • Resolve Systems and the Resolve IT Automation and Orchestration Platform

 

The Network Sustainability Award

The best intelligent automation solution for network sustainability and energy efficiency

Winner: Ericsson and their Predictive Cell Energy Management Solution

Finalists:

  • Future Connections and The Energy Saver solution
  • Huawei and their IntelligentRAN iPowerStar Solution
  • Nokia and its AI-driven AVA Energy Efficiency solution, in collaboration with COSMOTE
  • VMware and the Telco Sustainability Framework

The Automation Solution Award

The leading solution for network automation

Winner: Netcracker Technology and their Network Domain Orchestration Solution

Finalists:

  • Amdocs and their E2E Service and Network Orchestration Suite
  • Blue Planet with MATRIXX Software and Dynamic 5G Edge Monetization
  • HPE and their Closed-loop E2E network operations automation solution
  • Huawei and their Core Network High Stability Solution Enabling Always Online Services
  • Rakuten Symphony with Symworld

 

The most innovative application of AI & Automation

…to enhance customer experience

Winner: VMware and their Network Scorecard rApp (powered by VMware RAN Intelligent Controller)

  • Huawei and the Huawei Premium Broadband solution
  • Juniper Networks and the Juniper Paragon Automation solution
  • Nokia and its AVA Analytics solution, in collaboration with Ooredoo Qatar
  • Sonalake and their Anomoly Detection Solution
  • Tata Communications Transformation Services and their Fiber Risk Assessment, Mitigation, and Eliminations System platform

 

The AIOps Award

The best operations solution incorporating AI functionality

Winner: Nokia and the Homeview Solution in collaboration with BT

Finalists:

  • Anritsu Service Assurance and eoMind
  • Celfocus and their unified E2E agile OSS/network platform
  • Netcracker Technology and the Netcracker Data Analytics Platform
  • P.I. Works and the AI4Green project in collaboration with Turkcell
  • Sonalake with VisiMetrix

 

The Technology Leader Award

Outstanding contribution throughout their career (by nomination only)

Winner: Enrique Blanco, Chief Technology & Information Officer, Telefónica

2023 Judges

Amy Cameron, Principal Analyst, STL Partners

James Crawshaw, Principal Analyst, Omdia

Dimitris Mavrakis, Senior Research Director, ABI Research

Adaora Okeleke, Principal Analyst, Analysys Mason

Roy Chua, Founder & Principal, AvidThink

Francis Haysom, Partner & Principal Analyst, Appledore Research

Mark Newman, Chief Analyst, TM Forum

Christopher Silverberg, Research Manager, European Telecommunications Insights, IDC

2022 Awards Video

“Industry validation from FutureNet World reinforces our goal of enabling more open, automated networks so end users can have stellar customer experiences”

Rick Hamilton, Senior Vice President, Blue Planet

 

“The fact is we were in a very competitive category  is certainly something we are very proud of, and I’m thrilled about”

Partha Seetala, Founder and CEO, Robin.io

 

“We’re very excited to have received this recognition from FutureNet World and believe your industry experts have confirmed the value and innovation capabilities we provide”

Anis Chemli ,VP of Marketing and Sales, Guavus

 

“It’s very gratifying to win for the launch project last year and to win this year for the product in action”

Bill Stanley, Marketing, Nokia

 

Read the “Hear from the Winners” Article here​

Why Enter?

Shortlisted entries become part of a press campaign reaching 20,000+ Telecoms professionals

Winning entries featured and companies interviewed for a ‘Winners Special’ editorial feature

We want to attract the best innovation from large and small companies alike – It’s free to enter for all!

Have your entry judged by leading analyst judges

Entry Criteria

Successful entries will demonstrate (one or more of):

  1. Substantial reductions to the life cycle costs of operating a network
  2. Driving revenue/commercial growth
  3. Outstanding technical innovation
  4. Adding new dimensions to customer experience

Entries should be text only and not include supporting documentation or hyperlinks.

You may submit different entries to different categories, but not the same entry unto multiple categories.

Timeline

31st January Entries open

17th March Entries Deadline

14th April Shortlist announced

3rd May Winners announced at FutureNet World