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Winners of The 2004 ISPAs
The 6th Annual UK Internet Industry Awards
The winners of The 2004 ISPAs - The 6th Annual UK Internet Industry Awards in association with Purple Sun and Internet Magazine - were announced at a gala dinner in London on 19th February 2004.
ISPA is grateful to all the sponsors, the attendees, Simon Amstell the compere for the evening and Richard Hooper, Deputy Director of Ofcom, the keynote speaker at the event. ISPA thanks him and his organisation's support of this event. Special thanks also go to BT for sponsoring the reception and continuing their support of The ISPAs as they have since the event's inception.
Congratulations to all the finalists, the winners and the companies that received Commendations for Innovation.
ISP DIVISION AWARDS
Best Hosting provider sponsored by Telecity
The finalists were:
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Easynet
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Freenetname
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Mistral
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NDO
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Netscalibur
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UK Online
Winner: Mistral
An ISPA spokesperson said, "The judges were impressed with the management of Mistral's growth throughout 2003 which has not affected the quality of service Mistral provides. Customers remain satisfied with this ISP which performed very well during the independent technical monitoring period."
Best Metered ISP sponsored by Contact Centre Financial Services
The finalists were:
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Easynet
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Freeserve
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Inspiron
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Tiscali
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V21
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ViaNetworks
Winner: Tiscali
An ISPA spokesperson said, "The independent monitoring showed Tiscali as very impressive in terms of technical performance. The judges considered Tiscali to be the best all-round provider of metered dial-up internet services, for both businesses and residential customers."
Best Unmetered Dial-up ISP sponsored by Energis
The finalists were:
Winner: Blueyonder from Telewest Broadband
An ISPA spokesperson said, "The judges regarded the Blueyonder unmetered dial-up offering as an excellent package which is not subject to timed cut-offs. Blueyounder offers customers excellent value over the long-term. In terms of customer satisfaction, the judges felt that Blueyonder 'creamed the field!'"
An ISPA spokesperson continued, "The judges deemed that One.tel deserved a Commendation for Innovation for the diversity of unmetered dial-up packages they offer. The wide-range of products enables customers to find a suitable unmetered dial-up package from a very user-friendly ISP."
Best Small Business ISP sponsored by Beachcroft Wansbourghs
The finalists were:
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Claranet
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Easynet
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Fastnet International
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Netservices
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Pipex
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VISPA
Winner: Fastnet
An ISPA spokesperson said, "The judges considered Fastnet to be the ISP that offered the best service specifically for small businesses. They were also impressed by Fastnet's proactive and professional approach. Fastnet is a small business excelling in servicing small businesses."
Best Business Broadband ISP sponsored by Zyxel
The finalists were:
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Claranet
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Datanet International
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Easynet
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Mailbox Internet
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Mistral
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Netscalibur
Winner: Easynet
An ISPA spokesperson said, "Easynet's local loop unbundled broadband connections offer generous bandwidth which delivers consistent speeds to customers. The judges drew attention to Easynet's solid support offering and helpful staff."
Best Consumer Broadband sponsored by Telefonica
The finalists were:
Winner: Bulldog Communications
An ISPA spokesperson said, "The judges highlighted Bulldog's aggressive promotion of an innovative range of packages. The company had a big impact on the ISP sector in 2003. Bulldog was seen as pushing back the barriers in the consumer broadband market to the benefit of their customers."
Best National Business ISP sponsored by Mirapoint
The finalists were:
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Claranet
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Datanet International
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Easynet
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Netservices
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Pipemedia
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Pipex
Winner: Easynet
An ISPA spokesperson said, "The judges drew attention to the all-round package that Easynet offers business. The ISP was particularly commended for its broadband products and the commitment to Local Loop Unbundling (LLU)."
Best National Consumer ISP sponsored by Mastercard
The finalists were:
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Freeserve
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NDO
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Tiscali
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UK Online
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V21
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VISPA
Winner: Freeserve
An ISPA spokesperson said, "Freeserve were considered by the judges to be the most consumer facing and supportive ISP of the nominees. The judges drew particular attention to the range of value added services such as anti-abuse services, consumer content and website building applications. Freeserve has also created vibrant communities for their subscribers."
SUPPLIERS DIVISION AWARDS
Best Hardware sponsored by Freeserve
The finalists were:
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Cisco
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Electronic Frontier Ltd
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Flexiserv
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Nortel
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Sandvine
Winner: Electronic Frontier
An ISPA spokesperson said, "Electronic Frontier have bridged a gap in hardware provision for the ISP sector. The judges regarded the Zyxel product as incredibly easy to use. Electronic Frontier was considered as a responsive company with customer support that is "just brilliant", often resolving any problems within 24 hours."
An ISPA spokesperson continued, "The judges deemed that Flexiserv should receive a Commendation for Innovation for listening to their customers and delivering flexible servers and appliances for the ISP industry."
Best Third Party Application sponsored by Contact Centre Marketing
The finalists were:
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Brightmail
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IP Support
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Mirapoint
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Vytec Solutions
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Zeus
Winner: Brightmail
An ISPA spokesperson said, "In a year that has seen the prevention of spam emerge as a major issue, the judges considered that the services offered by Brightmail are important to the internet industry. As a company, Brightmail are keen to speak to customers and ISPs and have significantly raised awareness of spam and spam related issues."
Best Carrier sponsored by Singlepoint Data Services
The finalists were:
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Easynet
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Energis
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Exponential-e
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Fibernet
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Telefonica
Winner: Fibernet
An ISPA spokesperson said, "The judges congratulated Fibernet on a creative and carefully presented submission. They were noted for their investment in their network and were considered as a company of substance, often providing services to other carriers."
An ISPA spokesperson continued, "The judges considered Exponential-e as a company worthy of a Commendation for Innovation. Exponential-e has enormous potential, offering exceptional speeds at competitive prices and an innovative service during still tough times for the carrier market."
Best Internet Exchange sponsored by France Telecom
The finalists were:
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AboveNet
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Ams-ix
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Linx
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Manap
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XchangePoint
Winner: Linx
An ISPA spokesperson said, "The judges considered Linx to be a well-established and pro-active internet exchange. Experience has allowed Linx to offer a solid, reliable and resilient service."
Best Search Facility sponsored by One.Tel
The finalists were:
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All the web
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Espotting Media
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Go Bango
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Google
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Overture
Winner: Google
An ISPA spokesperson said, "The judges considered Google as a search facility that delivers with an advertising policy that does not affect the users' experience. Google's customer base has grown and the company listens and responds to feedback. Google was commended for its value added services, in particular the Google toolbar."
SPECIAL AWARDS DIVISION
The IWF Award for Developments in Online Safety sponsored by Demon Internet
The finalists were:
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4Learning/The Department for Education and Skills "for Grid Club"
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Disney Online "for Safe Surfing with Doug"
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BBCi "for Dongle"
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Freeserve "for their child protection help pages"
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ERICA (European Research into Consumer Affairs') "for their child safety on the internet advice"
Winner: 4Learning/The Department for Education and Skills/Intuitive Media - "for Grid Club"
The Internet Hero Award sponsored by Exponential-e
The finalists were:
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Law Commission for England & Wales - "for calling for a change to the law relating to defamation on the internet"
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Steve Linford and Spamhaus - "for educating people about spam, endeavouring to thwart spammers and urging the US to reject the opt-out approach to spam legislation "
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Mary Tait from the Department of Trade and Industry - "for maintaining a balanced approach and striving for a joined-up approach to the variety of issues affecting the Internet industry in the E-Commerce Directive, the new Data Protection Directive and Communications Act"
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Richard Thomas and the Office of the Information Commissioner - "for demonstrating a pragmatic and user-friendly approach, not just paying lip service to such a goal"
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Rt. Hon. Stephen Timms MP - "for the enthusiasm he demonstrates in his role"
Winner: Steve Linford and Spamhaus
An ISPA spokesperson said, "The ISPA Council considered Steve Linford and Spamhaus should receive the Internet Hero Award 'for educating people about spam, endeavouring to thwart spammers and urging the US to reject the opt-out approach to spam legislation'"
The Internet Villain Award sponsored by ts.com
The finalists were:
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Broadband Stakeholders' Group (BSG) "for being beset by a minority of interests, achieving little with their Government funding and not appropriately representing the true broadband industry"
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The Home Office "for the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act and demonstrating a lack of responsiveness to the internet industry's concerns about data retention."
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Recording Industry Association of America "For threatening to involve a 12 year old girl in a court action"
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Derek Wyatt MP - "for lowering level of informed debate on the internet generally and spam in particular"
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Verisign "for their presumption that they own the internet and the domain name system hijacking scandal"
Winner: Verisign
An ISPA spokesperson said, "The ISPA Council considered Verisign should receive the Internet Villain Award 'for their presumption that they own the internet and the domain name system hijacking scandal'"
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Notes to Editors
The views expressed in this release are those of the Internet Services Providers' Association (ISPA UK) and do not necessarily reflect the corporate policies of the individual companies that are members of the Association.
For further information, please contact the ISPA Press Office.
Email: pressoffice@ispa.org.uk
Tel: 020 7233 7239
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