Nokia PureView 808 purple tint issue to be fixed via SW Update

Over at Nokia's support forums, a statement has been put up regarding the much reported purple tint issue on the the 808 PureView's display. In fact our very own unit initially faced this problem before being replaced. The screen sporadically takes a very prominent purple tint when exposed to bright sunlight or in a very dark room. Nokia says that it has identified the root cause of the problem and will be rolling out a software update to fix it. In addition, it is recommended that users change the brightness to maximum under display settings. This is a pretty sure shot way of ensuring that you do not have to face the purple tint though it does result in a slightly lower battery life. Nokia's statement is embedded below : Short-time purple discolourations (purple tint) on the display can be seen in the type of AMOLED displays used in the Nokia 808 PureView in the following situations: - In dark room conditions, when the display is automatically adjusted to lower luminance level to maximize dark room readability - In bright sunlight, when the phone's display is automatically adjusted to maximum luminance to enable the best possible readability - If a user wakes up the phone ...

XPERIA Phones from 2011 Will Not Receive Upgrade to Jelly Bean

XPERIA Phones released in 2011 are most likely to not get upgraded to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. John Cooper, Product Manager of Sony UK attended an online Q&A session on Facebook. He was asked whether the XPERIA Arc S and the XPERIA mini Pro would receive upgrades to Jelly Bean and he denied both. But since the XPERIA Arc S is the flagship model of 2011, it's highly unlikely that any other device from 2011 would receive the upgrade. The new phones launched in 2012 however should be getting the upgrade although a specific time slot hasn't been announced

top mobile Operating system

In the ongoing battle for mobile OS supremacy, the two major players remain Google's Android and Apple's iOS, but Microsoft Windows Phone is doing its best to crash the party. (Pardon the mixed metaphors.) Android may be winning the popularity contest— as previously mentioned, it has significantly more smartphone market share—but Apple wins when it comes to customer satisfaction and by a wide margin. However, Microsoft's Windows Phone platform is neck and neck with Apple in our survey results. Android's popularity doesn't translate directly into being as well liked, thus Microsoft and Apple share the 2012 Readers' Choice Award for smartphone platforms, or mobile OSes.

When we asked our readers how satisfied they were with their smartphones overall, Apple and Microsoft customers both rated their phones an impressive 8.7 on our 0 (extremely dissatisfied) to 10 (extremely satisfied) scale. Android, on the other hand, only received a 7.9, the same rating it received in 2011. Apple's score improved from 8.4 last year; Windows Phone, which earned an Honorable Mention in 2011, improved 0.6 points. That's up from an 8.1, which is a big jump in satisfaction.

While Apple and Microsoft rated the same for overall satisfaction, Windows Phone actually received slightly higher satisfaction ratings than iOS in several key areas, including reliability, text messaging, Web browsing, and gaming. Apple's iOS, however, rates substantially better than Windows Phone for satisfaction with the quality and availability of apps and its music player.

Android's satisfaction ratings in several drill-down areas were higher than its overall satisfaction rating. The platform received its best marks for availability of apps (8.7) though that still trailed Apple iOS's score of 9.1. Android's lowest marks came for satisfaction as a music player (7.9 compared to a 9.0 for iOS and an 8.5 for Windows Phone) and as a gaming device (7.4 compared to an 8.3 for iOS and an 8.4 for Windows Phone). Substantially more Android users also reported needing technical support with their phones (32 percent) compared to Windows Phone (20 percent) and iOS (25 percent) users.

Despite Windows Phone's success at delivering a very satisfying smartphone experience to its customers, it seems that these users aren't committed to the Microsoft platform in the same way that Android and Apple users are. When we asked how likely you were to recommend your phone to someone looking to purchase a smartphone, Apple received a rating of 9.2, which was half a point better than its overall satisfaction rating. Android's 8.2 was 0.3 points better than its overall satisfaction rating. Windows Phone's likelihood to recommend rating was only 0.1 points higher, which may indicate that users still question whether the platform can gain traction.

One platform that has no traction among PCMag readers is RIM's BlackBerry. Overall satisfaction was down to 6.8 this year, slightly below 2011's 6.9. BlackBerry's likelihood to recommend rating dropped 1.1 points from 7.2 in 2011 to 6.1. It continued to garner respectable ratings in its traditional areas of strength, specifically email (8.5) and text messaging (8.2), but these were far from the highest satisfaction ratings among all the platforms in these areas. BlackBerry had the lowest reliability score (7.5, which was tied with Microsoft) and abysmal satisfaction ratings for gaming (4.6), availability of apps (5.4), and Web browsing (5.5). These are all key areas where a smartphone platform needs to do well in order to succeed.

Global Mobile Awards-Announcing the Winners

Best Mobile App for Consumers

Rovio Entertainment Ltd. - Angry Birds Rio

What happens when everybody's favorite fierce fowl get caged and shipped to Rio? They get very angry! In Angry Birds Rio, the original Angry Birds are kidnapped and taken to the magical city of Rio de Janeiro, where they eventually escape their captors and set out to save their friends Blu and Jewel – two rare macaws and the stars of the hit motion picture, Rio. Angry Birds Rio pairs the physics-based gameplay of the original game with unique twists based on the film. Released in March 2011, Angry Birds Rio has been downloaded over 120 million times.http://www.rovio.com/angry-birds-rio 

Best Mobile App for Enterprise

Citrix Systems - Citrix Receiver

Citrix Receiver provides amazing access to business desktops and corporate applications from any device including the latest Android, iOS and BlackBerry-based smartphones and tablets. Built on Citrix industry leading application virtualization technology, which is utilized by 100 million+ users worldwide, Citrix Receiver gives today’s demanding workforce simple and intuitive access to Windows, web and SaaS apps to maximize productivity from anywhere with any mobile device. Citrix Receiver allows IT to securely deliver virtual desktops and enterprise apps as an on-demand service to any user over any mobile platform enabling a high performance HDX experience across any network.

Judges’ Choice - Best Overall Mobile App

WhatsApp Inc. - WhatsApp

WhatsApp Messenger is a cross-platform mobile messaging app which allows you to exchange messages without having to pay for SMS. WhatsApp Messenger is available for iPhone, BlackBerry, Android and Nokia and yes, those phones can all message each other! Because WhatsApp Messenger uses the same internet data plan that you use for email and web browsing, there is no cost to message and stay in touch with your friends. In addition to basic messaging, iPhone, Android, Nokia and BlackBerry WhatsApp Messenger users can send each other unlimited images, video and audio media messages.

Judges'comments

This was the Judges' choice of Best Overall Mobile App.

Most Innovative Mobile App

SwiftKey

"SwiftKey is a game-changing keyboard for the Android platform combining advanced AI and machine learning technology, making text input easier and faster. SwiftKey’s innovative patented technology adapts to a users' style to mind read their next word and create highly personal predictions locally on a smartphone or tablet. The small start-up from Cambridge, UK has grown its app to over 5m downloads, saving users more than 30 billion keystrokes - equivalent to over 350 years typing. Throughout 2010 and 2011 SwiftKey hit the No.1 paid app on Android multiple times with Gizmodo exclaiming, “you’ll feel like it’s reading your mind!” "

Judges'comments

"Clever technology - a much needed innovation that will make typing on smartphones and tablets so much easier."

Best Mobile Advertising & Marketing Campaign

Brandtone - Carling Black Label "Be the Coach"

Carling Black Label “Be the Coach” is an interactive mobile campaign executed in South Africa by mobile engagement company, Brandtone, on behalf of South African Breweries. The campaign taps into South African men’s passion for soccer, allowing fans to select players for a game between the country’s two largest soccer teams – Kaizer Chiefs & Orlando Pirates. For the first time, the fans could be the coach! The campaign generated over 11 million engagements, using accessible mobile technologies – USSD, SMS and Interactive Voice Recording – to bring soccer to the fans in a brand new, personal way via their mobile phone. Visit http://www.brandtone.ie/carling-2012-innovation/ to see the campaign.

Judges'comments

"Using the entire mobile device range to leverage the fans' emotions is key to this campaign's success and the fans loved getting involved."

Innovation in Mobile Advertising

Poken for the leading CMS for NFC

Poken is revolutionizing the event industry with social “touch” marketing, enabled via mobile NFC and a cloud-based service. Imagine totally paperless events and tradeshows where you simply touch your phone, or a USB stick, to tags affixed to posters to collect a brochure, a video, or a coupon? Our online marketing application makes it possible for customers (advertising or event agencies, corporate customers) to deploy touch marketing campaigns which have better reach, more impact, and are less costly than traditional marketing. Used to improve lead generation and get unprecedented insights into customer needs, our tools also enable totally green events.

Judges'comments

The judges liked this because it combines NFC with a smart understanding that the nature of "mobile" is quickly going to move beyond smartphones and tablets. We really like the technology and the CMS ecosystem that has been built out to be leveraged by consumer partners.

Mobile Marketing & Advertising Agency of the Year

[am.o.bee]

[a•mo•bee] is the global leader defining mobile advertising, offering comprehensive mobile advertising solutions to the largest mobile operators, publishers, and advertisers worldwide. Our advanced, proprietary technology delivers all forms of mobile advertising, across all mobile channels, with guaranteed results. [a•mo•bee] empowers its customers to exceed their mobile advertising objectives and achieve unparalleled ROI, successfully supporting all unique mobile characteristics and formats. All these characteristics allow for an extraordinary milestone: finally, one company, [a•mo•bee], has made advertising relevant, measurable and reliable. www.amobee.com 

Judges'comments

"This agency has global reach and good technical ability for the mobile space."

Best Enterprise Mobile Service

Fiberlink - MaaS360

MaaS360 by Fiberlink provides IT organizations with mobility intelligence and control over mobile devices, applications and content to enhance the mobile user experience and keep corporate data secure across smartphones, tablets, and laptops. MaaS360 helps companies reduce the costs of supporting their growing mobile workforce and simplifies IT infrastructure and operations management with a single portal to monitor the expanding suite of mobile devices and operating systems, including Apple iOS, Android, BlackBerry, and Windows Phone. Built on a highly scalable, multi-tenant architecture, MaaS360 delivers instant-on access to powerful mobility management capabilities to any organization, by making it easy to use and affordable. For more information, please visit http://www.maas360.com.

Judges'comments

"This demonstrates genuine understanding of enterprise user issues, and enables straightforward and cost-effective mobile device management."

Best Consumer Mobile Service

Google - Google Maps for Android

Google Maps for Android shows users where they are and how to get to where they’re going with rich 3D maps and voice-guided turn-by-turn navigation. Users can also search for and rate local businesses, explore the world in Street View, see live traffic information to avoid congestion, and get other information about the world around them. Recently, Google Maps for Android began adding indoor maps for select airports, hotels, retail stores, and other locations to provide users with detailed floor plans and accurate indoor location. Whether you need directions to your destination, the closest good place for a bite to eat, or just a sense of where you are, Google Maps for Android can help.

Judges'comments

"As good as the map technology gets. Indoor element makes this stand out - very impressive on mobile devices."

Best Network Product or Solution for Serving Customers

Turkcell - Turkcell TiklaKonus

Turkcell TiklaKonus, brings the Telco voice capability into Internet and Software applications’ world. It enables peer-to-peer voice communication over GSM network managed by IT methodologies. most promising and differentiating feature of TiklaKonus is that, it enables applications to align with the anonymity need in the Internet world scenarios by hiding the numbers of both users participated in the call and displaying the service digit for both participants. TıklaKonus is now being used by more than 25 distinct Consumer, Mobile Marketing and Enterprise applications, summing up to more than 200 K distinct users, with a %600 annual growth rate

Judges'comments

"Great example of out-of-the-box thinking, creating new revenue streams by exposing and reselling core capabilities."

Best Product, Initiative or Service for Underserved Segments

Safaricom - Grundfos

"Safaricom and Grundfos partnered to provide water to the marginalized communities in Eastern province. The main goal was to use technology to provide clean and healthy water affordably and conveniently. The water payment system was built on the M-PESA platform thus selling our value added products to these communities. The objectives of the project were:

• Provision of clean drinking water to the residents in the arid and semi arid areas
• Provision of clean drinking water for farm animals
• Provision of water for planting crops throughout the year

The community benefits since all payments are electronic and therefore cannot be easily accessed. They can only be accessed periodically to cover the costs of operation of the service by the managing committee. "

Judges'comments

"A highly tangible project solving a real problem and meeting a real need - definitely aimed at closing the access gap."

mWomen Best Mobile Product or Service for Women in Emerging Markets

Etisalat, Qualcomm, D-Tree International and Great Connection Inc. - Etisalat Mobile Baby

"In 2011, the Etisalat Group launched a unique maternal health program which helps to provide critical healthcare to pregnant women in rural parts of Africa. This service, named ‘Mobile Baby’ was developed in partnership with Qualcomm, D-Tree International and Great Connection Inc. Mobile Baby will save countless lives whilst greatly enhancing the quality of living of millions of women across the continent. Etisalat already deployed its Maternal Health program in the Tanzania, Nigeria, UAE and Saudi Arabia. Based on experience with service introduction, Etisalat is now looking to rollout Mobile Baby program across all of its Operations throughout 2012."

Judges'comments

"Good initiative concerning maternal health. Nice convergence of a number of technologies in a critical area of need."

Best Use of Mobile in Emergency or Humanitarian Situations

UBL Omni - Transparent and Efficient Cash Disbursement Service After the 2009 IDPs Crisis and the 2010 Flood Crisis

UBL Omni’s Cash Disbursement Service is one of the largest Branchless Banking aid disbursement initiatives to date. UBL Omni provided the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), a poverty alleviation inititiave by the Government of Pakistan, and the World Food Programme (WFP) with a transparent and convenient cash disbursement mechanism for victims of the 2009 ‘War Against Terror’ IDPs Crisis and the 2010 Flood Crisis. Beneficiaries were issued unique cards and PINs which were used to withdraw funds from conveniently located UBL Omni retail shops, where agents logged into their mobile based applications to execute quick cash disbursements.

Judges'comments

"There is growing interest in how to direct payment of aid to the needy and this scheme utilising mobile phones is a valuable initiative."

The Green Mobile Award

Flexenclosure - E-site

"Flexenclosure is a specialist supplier of power management systems, complete data centers and other end-to-end site solutions for the telecom industry. The company provides total systems that are fully integrated, flexible, factory tested for reliability, adaptable to local conditions and quick to install. E-site is a green base station site power management solution for off-grid markets, mainly powered by renewable energy sources and with an intelligent control system that can bring a 90 percent reduction in diesel fuel consumption, CO2 emissions, and energy OPEX compared to traditional solutions. Flexenclosure’s customers are global telecom companies like Ericsson, Airtel, MTN and Zain. www.flexenclosure.com "

Judges'comments

"Current, practical and cost-efficient, this helps to alleviate issues around radio base station power availability and also deals with environmental preservation."

Best Mobile Health Innovation

Etisalat, Qualcomm, D-Tree International and Great Connection Inc. - Etisalat Mobile Baby

"In 2011, the Etisalat Group launched a unique maternal health program which helps to provide critical healthcare to pregnant women in rural parts of Africa. This service, named ‘Mobile Baby’ was developed in partnership with Qualcomm, D-Tree International and Great Connection Inc. Mobile Baby will save countless lives whilst greatly enhancing the quality of living of millions of women across the continent. Etisalat already deployed its Maternal Health program in the Tanzania, Nigeria, UAE and Saudi Arabia. Based on experience with service introduction, Etisalat is now looking to rollout Mobile Baby program across all of its Operations throughout 2012."

Judges'comments

"M-health at its best with a built in end-user partnership."

Best Mobile Innovation for Education or Learning

OnPoint Digital - CellCast Solution

Built for enterprise-level mobile learning, OnPoint’s award-winning CellCast Solution enables organizations to create, deliver and track content deployed to smartphones and tablets. Learners use device-specific CellCast “Apps” to download any variety of content (HTML, Video, Audio, PPT, ePub, etc.) including tests/surveys. Completion detail and test results are fully tracked. Available Apps span all the popular device platforms found in the enterprise today: BlackBerry, iPhone, iPad, Windows Phone, Android, Kindle and NOOK. Advanced features include messaging, search, social media, learning paths, user-generated content, gamification, localization, and security. With CellCast, you extend and enhance the learning environment for a highly mobile workforce. http://www.mlearning.com

Judges'comments

"Judges quote: An attractive and comprehensive mobile learning solution that harnesses the potential of today’s major trends of cloud, apps, gamification and social media on all platforms."

Best Mobile Innovation for Automotive, Transport or Utilities

Ford Motor Company Ltd. - Ford SYNC with Emergency Assistance

Judges'comments

"Wonderfully designed innovative solution. The business model brings goodwill and enhancement to Ford and costs the user nothing."

Best Mobile Money Innovation

Etisalat, MasterCard and Oberthur Technologies - Etisalat Commerce

"In 2011, Etisalat introduced and is continuing the commercial rollout of fully interoperable, open-loop (Mobile) Commerce ecosystem across its Operations. Etisalat enables end-users to use mobile phones as a payment instrument truly anywhere, anytime without geographical borders in highly secured environment in any merchant location globally supported by MasterCard and local/regional payment networks. The service is offered across all interfaces including STK, on-line, IVR, NFC including Africa First NFC service “Touch and Go”. In 2011, 1.8 Billion USD of transactions completed through Etisalat Commerce service and 5.4 million parking tickets were sold through the service in the amount of 17.2 million USD. "

Judges'comments

Judges’ quote: "With the majority of the world unbanked and yet already on mobile, this represents an opportunity to bring banking and payments truly to the masses"

Best Mobile Innovation for Publishing

Financial Times and Assanka - The Financial Times Web App

In June 2011 The Financial Times launched a new, faster and automatically updating HTML5 app available directly through the browser on an iPhone or iPad simply by visiting app.ft.com The FT is the first major news publisher to launch an app of this type, which allows readers to access its award-winning journalism easily and quickly, even when offline. This is an important step in the FT’s strategy of providing multi-channel access to content, offering customers flexibility and freedom of choice with access to global journalism anytime, anywhere, with a single login or subscription.

Judges'comments

"Great content behind a brave and successful adoption of HTML5 has produced an impressive online and offline app that spans any mobile device or platform."

Best Smartphone

Samsung - Samsung Galaxy S II

The Galaxy S II has become the most popular Android smartphone in the UK since launching in May 2011. Its sleek design and superior multimedia capabilities have led it to become the most awarded smartphone in 2011.With its exceptionally bright Super AMOLED screen at 4.3”, colours come alive when watching movies and capturing pictures and video from its impressive 8-megapixel camera. The powerful 1.2GHz processor provides super-fast HPSA and Wi-Fi connectivity which has propelled the Galaxy S II forward as a multimedia powerhouse. The Galaxy S II’s communication hub provides access to social networks, information, music and gaming, setting a new benchmark for smartphones and consumers everywhere.

Judges'comments

"A phenomenal success around the world, this has outperformed all its Android rivals and demonstrated the maturity of the ecosystem."

Best Feature Phone or Entry Level Phone

Nokia - Nokia C3-00

The Nokia C3 was designed to put better social networking tools in the hands of more people around the world, at affordable prices. The C3 features a QWERTY keyboard and access to social networks directly from the homescreen. The Nokia C3 also comes with Ovi Mail and Ovi Chat, meaning first time users can set up email and chat accounts straight from the device. Other notable features are Wi-Fi connectivity, a two megapixel camera, rich color 2.4 inch screen and support for up to an 8GB memory card. The C3 demonstrates Nokia’s dedication to enabling the next billion to connect to the internet.

Judges'comments

"The numbers speak for themselves - a blockbusting chart topper with universal appeal."

The judges would also like to recognise the companies who are working to solve the needs of the ageing global population. Devices that deliver accessibility above all else are becoming increasingly important."

Device Manufacturer of the Year

Samsung

Judges'comments

"Success across the board with progress in every category, and outperforming rivals in a tough market."

Best Mobile Tablet

Apple - Apple iPad 2

If the iPhone set the standard for smartphones to follow, the iPads 1 and 2 set the bar for tablets higher and higher still. The iPad2 boasts the sleekest design on the market at just 8mm thin and weighing in at 601g, but of course it’s about a lot more than just looks. With a host of new features and enhanced functionality, from the two cameras for Facetime and HD video recording, to the superfast dual-core A5 chip, a 10-hour battery life and iOS5, there are over 200 new software features in all, plus iCloud for synching content across all Apple devices. A shoe in for Best Mobile Tablet 2012? Stay tuned.

Judges'comments

"A unanimous choice for a tablet that has defined the market and dominated sales."

Best New Mobile Handset, Device or Tablet at Mobile World Congress 2012

Nokia - Nokia 808 Pure View

Best Embedded Mobile Device (Non-Handsets)

AT&T - Garmin GTU 10

Judges'comments

"Small, lightweight  and feature rich, this is a notable evolution for location  technology."

Best Mobile Broadband Technology

KT - KT's Premium WiFi Solution

KT’s “Premium Wi-Fi solution” provides world-best wireless performance as well as exceptional service features. Tests on the commercial network prove that it can support over 200 meters outdoor coverage in highly-interfered dense urban area and more than 512 Wi-Fi users can be served simultaneously. It provides not only actual seamless handover called relay Wi-Fi but also proactive security using malicious Wi-Fi device detection. From traffic analysis, the solution is verified to offload maximum 37% traffic from total data traffic in entire KT mobile networks. In summary, “Premium Wi-Fi solution” can definitely be named as “World most cost-effective cutting-edge Wi-Fi solution”

Judges'comments

"The best example of an operator leading the way in broadband data traffic management."

Best Infrastructure Technology

Alcatel-Lucent - lightRadio Network

"The lightRadio Network is a radically new wireless network paradigm that dramatically improves end user quality of experience and network economics. With the lightRadio Network, operators can increase wireless capacity where people want it most – in their homes, offices and in hotspots – and also lay the foundation for a network that can adapt to rapidly shifting demand. The lightRadio Network achieves these results by harmoniously integrating different radio access technologies, a wide range of radio access nodes, a highly flexible AnyG Transport solution and a very high capacity core network. The end results for mobile network operators are happy, profitable customers and a greener network. www.alcatel-lucent.com/lightradio-network "

Judges'comments

"Reflects the global importance of highly-flexible, cost-effective base station systems - the concept is being heavily adopted in major mobile networks around the world."

Best Technology Breakthrough

Vodafone Group PLC - Quad Rate Technology: an evolved path doubling the efficiency of mobile voice

Vodafone has pioneered “Quad Rate”, a technique which enhances existing GSM network capacity via a software upgrade thereby increasing service accessibility for our customers. As the title implies, Quad Rate includes up to four voice users into a single GSM radio timeslot – previously the maximum was just two – and benefits customers in all markets but in particular emerging markets where GSM networks remain prevalent and where voice traffic growth continues. In more developed markets, this innovation will be used to reduce the frequency spectrum required for GSM operation thereby releasing it for usage with other technologies e.g. UMTS, LTE, and permitting Mobile Broadband services over a wider area.

Judges'comments

"An excellent achievement that extends GSM capacity and enables operators to maximise ther existing network investments."

Best Cloud Based Technology

Appcelerator - Titanium Integrated Development Platform

"Appcelerator’s Titanium Integrated Mobile Platform is an open-source JavaScript-based platform that enables the rapid development and deployment of cloud-connected mobile apps, while it minimizes the fragmentation risk from device and mobile OS proliferation. Titanium combines client-side functionality with 3rd party APIs and secure data stored in the cloud, unleashing the potential for highly rich, innovative apps that leverage native device capabilities, value-added services and cloud data. Asthe only mobile cloud platform to enable fully native, cross-platform mobile app, hybrid and HTML5 Web development from a single codebase, Titanium provides a simple, powerful way to get Web-scale, mobile-enabled apps up-and-running quickly. http://www.appcelerator.com/products/ "

Judges'comments

"Quintessential cloud, write once, deploy many times drives speed and cost reductions."

Best Technology Product or Solution for Safeguarding and Empowering Customers

Cloudmark - Cloudmark Mobile Messaging Security Suite

The Cloudmark Mobile Security suite provides the most effective threat protection from the widest range of threats. It comprises the Cloudmark Mobile Platform, Cloudmark Authority® and Cloudmark Sender Intelligence. It is a high-performance, carrier-grade messaging security solution, providing real-time threat analysis from global sources offering content and subscriber level policy controls to combat messaging threats. Backed by a unique and powerful combination of Advanced Messaging Fingerprinting Technology from the Cloudmark Global Threat Network, the solution can detect all categories of mobile messaging security threats and their rapidly mutating variants before they reach the consumer by updating participating mobile networks every few seconds. www.cloudmark.com 

Judges'comments

"Real innovation - this gives users a valuable service that delivers true empowerment and control."

GSMA Chairman's Award

KDDI, NTT DOCOMO, INC., SOFTBANK MOBILE

This year’s award recognises KDDI, NTT DOCOMO and SOFTBANK MOBILE for their efforts in responding to and driving the recovery from last year’s devastating magnitude-9.0 earthquake in Japan. The catastrophic earthquake and resulting tsunami killed more than 15,000 people and forced 470,000 people to evacuate. As well as the vast and tragic human toll, this catastrophe caused massive destruction to critical infrastructure nationally in Japan as well as internationally. The country’s communications infrastructure was greatly impacted, with more than 14,000 base station facilities damaged, millions of circuits destroyed, 65,000 telephone poles collapsed, 6,300 kilometres of aerial cable damaged and more than 40 operator premises destroyed or submerged.

Against this backdrop, immediately, the three operators deployed hundreds of emergency antennas, often in dangerous circumstances, such as in potentially radioactive areas, with a demanding schedule to restore services and connect people.

Judges'comments

“This year we have chosen to recognise not one organisation, but three that together, reflected an astonishing spirit of collaboration, technological ingenuity and human determination in the face of a disaster of immeasurable proportion,” commented Franco Bernabé, Chairman of the GSMA and Chairman and CEO of Telecom Italia Group. “It is to the eternal credit of our three mobile operator members in Japan – KDDI, NTT DOCOMO and SOFTBANK MOBILE – that the response during a period of absolute chaos was resolute, systematic and swift in scale and efficiency.”