News
The Connected Britain Awards took place last night at the Connected Britain Afterparty. Hundreds joined us for an evening of networking, live music and the highly anticipated winner announcements.
We had a record breaking number of entries this year, reflecting Britain’s ever-growing and rapidly evolving digital economy.
Our shortlist this year represented a fantastic array of diverse organisations and individuals, with the traditional big players being joined by many organisations of varying sizes from all corners of Britain. This is a clear reflection of how the whole digital economy is now working towards the same goal of improving lives through connectivity.
From the latest technological innovations to the most impactful community initiatives, the Connected Britain Awards strives to highlight excellence in every corner of the UK.
A big thanks to all our award presenters, our generous sponsors and the excellent panel of judges, who spent the last number of months analysing entries for each of the 15 categories.
Onto the 16 awards…
The Full Fibre ISP Innovation Award
Winner: Brsk Ltd
Featuring a massive increase in homes passed (919%) over the year in question and an excellent customer satisfaction record, Brsk is well on the way to becoming a fibre powerhouse in the north of the UK. “Good customer feedback, great use of locally based community liaison officers, and quality engagement with other local stakeholders.”
The finalists were:
Gigabit Networks
Giganet
Hey! Broadband
Hyperoptic
TalkTalk Wholesale Services
The Barrier Removal Award
Winner: Intelligens Consulting with Renfrewshire Council
Intelligens Consulting’s work supporting Renfrewshire Council’s fibre journey has been transformational, turning a previously underserved area into the third most fibre-enabled local authority in Scotland.
The judges praised the entry’s clarity, saying it clearly outlined the scale of the challenge at hand, the methodology used to meet that challenge, and the exceptional results delivered.
The finalists were:
CityFibre
Kent County Council – Kent Wayleave Toolkit
Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA)
Lothian Broadband Networks (LBN)
Trenches Law
The Industrial Innovation Award
The winner: Vodafone – 5G SA Slicing
Vodafone’s entry demonstrated the success of 5G network slicing on one of the biggest stages of all, supporting the broadcast industry to deliver live footage of the coronation of King Charles III.
“This is a perfect example of what 5G slicing is intended to do,” said one of the judges, noting the broadcast industry’s unique set of requirements, especially for covering a major event such as the coronation.“
The finalists were:
Dexgreen Ltd – Virtual Buddy Training App
Neutral Wireless – Private 5G Network Deployed for King Charles III’s Coronation
Prodapt OpenFibreXchange
Zeti Limited
The Wireless Innovation Award
Winner: Quickline Communications
Quickline Communications delivered fascinating project using fixed wireless access over a bespoke cloud-based 5G standalone network using shared spectrum. Overall, a great use-case cited for rural broadband coverage.
“Proper innovation with extensive real-world applicability,” commented one of the judges, with another calling it “a true commitment to the use of high bandwidth FWA to serve the most challenging rural areas”.
The finalists were:
EdgeQ
Freshwave and the City of London Corporation
Jangala
Neutral Wireless – Private 5G Network Deployed for King Charles III’s Coronation
Scottish Water, Blackspot Networks and Atos
Broadband Provider of the Year
Winner: Brsk Ltd
With impressive growth, customer-centric initiatives, and an excellent Trustpilot rating, Brsk demonstrated impressive results since its launch in 2020.
“The focus on customers appears to permeate the entire organisation,” concluded one of the judges, while another noted that “ambitious deployment plans and innovative approaches, including same-day installation, sets Brsk apart”.
The finalists were:
Fibrus
Giganet
Lightning Fibre
Truespeed
Wessex Internet
Wildanet
Enterprise Solution of the Year
Winner: Vitruvi Software
Virtuvi’s GIS-based build management software offers altnets a way to automate a traditionally highly manual process, ultimately allowing them to deploy fibre at recording-breaking speeds.
The solution was praised as “a highly impressive tool” by the WCA judges, who also commented on the excellent customer feedback supporting the entry.
The finalists were:
Eseye Infinity IoT Platform
IFS Planning & Scheduling Optimization (PSO)
Jetty
Qualcomm Technologies, Wi-Fi 7 Networking Pro Series platforms
VETRO
Project Rollout Award
Winner: Liverpool City Region Combined
Authority (LCRCA) and LCR Connect
An excellent example of public–private collaboration in action to deliver major community benefits. This project shows a local authority that truly appreciates the importance of delivering high quality connectivity infrastructure to deliver economic growth.
“A good partnership model and phased deployment that is delivering some impressive results”
The finalists were:
CityFibre
County Broadband Ltd
Lothian Broadband Networks (LBN)
Openreach
Truespeed
The Access Innovation Award
Winner: Norfolk County Council
With a holistic approach to expanding broadband penetration in Norfolk through numerous initiatives, Norfolk County Council has more than doubled the county’s superfast coverage to 96%.
“This entry demonstrates an excellent appreciation for numerous technologies and doesn’t shy away from the challenges of delivering broadband to some of the UK’s hardest-to-reach areas,” said the judges.
The finalists were:
Avanti Communications
DexGreen Ltd
Lothian Broadband Networks (LBN)
Scottish Water and Atos using Starlink
The Smart Places Award
Winner: Connected for Success:
Welcome to Sunderland, City of Smart
Featuring a layered approach using a range of technologies for different industry verticals, this entry sought to drive ‘cross-fertilisation’ of ideas between sectors.
“With a focus on infrastructure, skills, digital inclusion, and applications – Sunderland showed it has everything needed for a Smart City to really develop”
The finalists were:
FarrPoint Western Isles IoT Project
Living Map Ltd
NYnet Ltd / North Yorkshire Council
Virgin Media O2 Business and partners. Greater Manchester Local Full Fibre Network programme
The Community Improvement Award
Winners: Get Online London
Greater Manchester Combined Authority –
Get Online Greater Manchester: for care leavers
For the first time ever in the history of the Connected Britain Awards, the judges were unable to separate two excellent projects, both of which supported some of the most vulnerable people in society.
“Both of these projects feature the coordination of fragmented resources to help make a real and lasting difference to peoples’ lives. Digital inclusion at its best”
The finalists were:
Coventry City Council #CovConnects
FullFibre – Fibre Heroes’ Community Investment Fund
Ogi, ‘Cefnogi’ Community Fund
Sunderland City Council’s local connectivity shapes communities fit for the future
Three Discovery
Wildanet
B2B Service Provider of the Year
Winner: Vodafone Business UK
With its comprehensive range of products and services backed by numerous success stories, Vodafone Business’s dedication to meeting their business customers evolving needs was evident throughout this entry.
“V-Hub, the business.connected programme, and free training courses for SMEs demonstrate the company’s commitment to going above and beyond when it comes to customer support.”
The finalists were:
Gigabit Networks
Giganet
ITS Technology Group
Pangea
Truespeed
Digital Skills Award
Winner: Dorset Council – Embedded digital champions
Dorset Council’s Digital Champions initiative showcases a proactive and impactful initiative to tackle the digital divide head on, providing digital skills to empower those that need it most.
“Digital Champions are a proven means of delivering digital skills at scale – perhaps the only proven means of delivery at scale,” said one of the judges. “Dorset Council’s approach of encouraging and supporting a wide range of individuals to become Digital Champions should be seen as best practice for the future.”
The finalists were:
Innovation Nottinghamshire – 5G Careers Programme
Kent County Council (Digital Kent)
Lloyds Banking Group and We Are Digital
Vodafone Business & Enterprise Nation – business.connected
The Sustainability Award
Winner: Wildanet
Wildanet’s B23 strategy saw them greatly improve their sustainability credentials, leading the charge in their local communities.
“Here’s a company that’s tackling the issue of sustainability in numerous forms and bringing local businesses along with them. Very impressive”
The finalists were:
FarrPoint Western Isles IoT Project
iLOQ Oy – iLOQ 5 Series Battery Free Locking Solution
KCOM
Openreach
Zayo: Zeus
The Rising Star Award
Winner: Dorset Council – Embedded digital champions
James’ journey from soldier to cable specialist exemplifies the enormous potential a telecoms career can offer anyone with passion, drive, and the will to learn. What’s more, with Cable Giants, James is helping others take that same journey, building a highly successful company in the process.
“Hard work, skills and a positive attitude are clearly paying dividends”
The finalists were:
Chris Founds, CJ Founds Associates
Franck, Courbon, Ethicronics
Haseeb Ahmed, NETS International Ltd
Liam Ceaplen, Jetty
Phil Bairsto, Freedom Fibre
The Startup Award
Winner: Artifeel
The winner was selected by the judges on day one of Connected Britain, with all shortlisted entries having their chance to take to the stage and present their business case.
The shortlist was:
AssetHUB
Emu Analytics
Groundhawk io
Inteliports
Jetty
Lumilinks
SecHard
Stacuity
Weaver Labs
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