Small Cell Forum Award shortlist celebrates excellence across the maturing global small cell ecosystem

28th May 2015

London, UK: The Small Cell Forum has announced the shortlist for the 2015 Small Cell Forum Industry Awards. Now in its seventh year, the 2015 awards include a series of new categories in recognition of an expanded and increasingly mature small cell ecosystem. The entries received have highlighted the market momentum and small cells’ strong penetration across home, urban, enterprise and rural & remote use cases.

Open to the entire ecosystem of companies in the small cell market, the awards evening will take place on Wednesday 10th June in London, as part of Small Cells World. The winners will be selected by an independent panel of judges, chaired by Caroline Gabriel of Rethink Technology Research.

“As always, the entries have been of an extremely high standard and have made the judging process extremely tough,” said Caroline Gabriel. “What really stood out this year is the real international breadth of entries from operators, vendors and end users which reflects the way that a broad global ecosystem is maturing around small cells. Many different technologies and services are also represented, highlighting where industry partnerships are working effectively. With the new categories this year we can really see the strong small cell penetration across all the use cases Small Cell Forum has identified within its Release programme.”

Alan Law, Chair of Small Cell Forum added: “I’m delighted with the quality and breadth of entries which clearly reflects the quality of commercial deployments world wide. Every year, the awards give the industry an opportunity to reflect and celebrate our achievements throughout the previous 12 months. 2015 saw us hitting the magic mark of ten million small cells deployed globally and I think that makes this celebration more appropriate than ever.”

The finalists for the 2015 Small Cell Industry Awards are:

Excellence in commercial deployment (RESIDENTIAL)

  • Fujitsu KDDI & Fujitsu Partner to Deliver VoLTE by Deploying Residential Small Cells
  • TurkCell Femtocell Deployment with Powerline Adapter

Excellence in commercial deployment (ENTERPRISE)

  • SpiderCloud Wireless Vodafone UK Sure Signal Premium with SpiderCloud E-RAN
  • Huawei Smart Mall Based on LampSite and Service Anchor by China Mobile & Huawei
  • NEC Enabling Operators to Support Enterprises’ with a Converged Mobile, Fixed Line and Online Small Cell Platform

Excellence in commercial deployment (URBAN)

  • SK Telecom’s Smart HetNet Solutions in Urban Deployments
  • Vodafone: Delivering Commercial LTE Small Cell ‘Performance Zones’
  • Nokia Networks: Small Cells + Big Events = Great User Experience

Excellence in commercial deployment (RURAL & REMOTE)

  • Parallel Wireless and EE: Reimagining the Economics of Rural Cellular Deployments
  • ip.access & iDirect: Small Cells on the Move
  • ip.access & Telefonica del Peru: Small Cells Bring 3G Connectivity to the Peruvian Jungle

Small cell access point design and technology

  • SpiderCloud Wireless: SpiderCloud’s Dual-band 4G (200+ sectors) and Multiple Operator Scalable Small Cell System
  • Airspan Networks AirRAN: The Virtual Small Cell
  • Parallel Wireless: Changing the Economics of Delivering Reliable Coverage with the Re-imagined Access Point

Small cell network element design and technology

  • Quortus & Cisco: Delivering Industry’s First Enterprise Small Cell VoLTE Solution
  • Softbank: The World’s First X2 Proxy Equipped HeNB-GW Ready for Commercial Launch!
  • Cisco: Cisco Virtual HetNet for Rapid Deployment at Scale

Small cell backhaul design and technology

  • Parallel Wireless: Maximizing the Value of Existing Infrastructure and Opening up New Possibilities with Flexible Backhaul Technology
  • InterDigital EdgeHaul: Millimeter Wave Small Cell Mesh Backhaul
  • Vodafone Urban Small Cell Backhaul in Vodafone Netherlands

Small cell tool design and technology (management, SON, planning)

  • Nokia Networks Nokia 3-D Geolocation: Maximizing the Return on Investment for Small Cells
  • iBwave & SpiderCloud Wireless: How iBwave and SpiderCloud Ease the Deployment and Scaling of Small Cell Networks
  • ClearSky Technologies NetView 360: Delivering Small Cell Design with Unprecedented Detail and Accuracy

Small cell technology and deployment enablers (components, subsystems, software, and system integration)

  • MicroSemi: New Integrated GNSS Master (IGM) Solution
  • Quortus ECX Tactical: 4G Tactical Network Solution for Public Safety and Government
  • JCDecaux: Developing Connectivity Solutions with Small Cells

Social impact – promoting small cells for social/economic/environmental development

  • ip.access & Sirran: Small Cells Create Advanced LTE Testbeds for Aspiring Engineers Worldwide
  • Radisys & Octasic: Portable LTE Tactical Communications System
  • Cisco and Softbank: Softbank Mobile Solves Rural and Remote Deployments with Cisco

For more information on the Small Cell Forum Industry Awards 2015, please visit: https://www.smallcellforum.org/events/awards/

About the Small Cell Forum (SCF)

Small Cell Forum works to accelerate small cell adoption to change the shape of mobile networks and maximize the potential of mobile services.

We are not a standards organization but partner with organizations that inform and determine standards development. We are a carrier-led organization. This means our operator members establish requirements that drive the activities and outputs of our technical groups.

Our track record speaks for itself: we have driven the standardization of key elements of small cell technology including Iuh, FAPI/SCAPI, SON, the small cell services API, TR‑069 evolution and the enhancement of the X2 interface.

At the time of writing, Small Cell Forum has more than 140 members, including 68 operators representing more than 3 billion mobile subscribers – 46 per cent of the global total – as well as telecoms hardware and software vendors, content providers and innovative start-ups.

Small Cell Forum Release Program

The Small Cell Forum Release Program has now established business cases and market drivers for all the main use cases, clarifying market needs and addressing barriers to deployment for residential, enterprise and urban small cells.

Small Cell Forum Release website can be found here: www.scf.io

Media contacts

Darren Willsher/Chris King
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