1. VSAT operator award for the best company/personality of the year

• Number of terminals delivering services
• Rate of growth
• Amount of bandwidth deployed
• Variety of sectors serviced
• Services available
• Lobbying the regulatory environment to protect VSAT frequency.

2. African regulator personality of the year

• Enforcing policy deployed by the ministry
• Transparency: the extent to which the decision making process is enforced by the regulator, in a way that is informed by public participation and is accessible to the general public.
• Establishes appropriate regulatory fees
• Responsiveness to inquiries and applications
• Establishes clear communications with public and private sectors

3. Africa’s satellite personality of the year award

• Someone who’s role has advanced, and has expanded access to satellite communications in Africa
• Promotes the use of innovative approaches 

4. Satellite operator personality of the year

• Operator who has made a difference to the satellite industry in Africa
• Customer satisfaction levels
• Made new and innovative services available
• Extent to which the operators have accommodated the changing needs of the system integrators in Africa

5. Innovative application of satellite technology in Africa

• The extent to which the application has pushed the technology envelope in a new direction
• The application is offered at a price that is within reach.
• The extent to which it is bringing communication to the previous “not haves” of society.

6. Ministry official of the year award:

• Policy development:         
  Policy that promotes expanding access to communications
• Promotes:
  Technology neutrality
  Innovation in universal access
• Welcoming of an independent regulator 

7. An organization that has made an exceptional contribution towards educating and training their team in the area of satellite communications.

• Sponsoring, enhancing, and contributing to the training of their staff.
• Gone the extra mile to advance their staff knowledge by way of training
• An extra effort has been made to implement a skills development programme.

8. Satellite providers/operators that have contributed the most to the operation of international organizations e.g.: ADB, AU, UN.

• A company that has made concessional rates available in order to meet the needs of a UN organization
• Extended the reach of their service area in order to meet the network demand
• Taking risk in order to service the greater good by providing services to rural /war torn areas.
• Operating in context that is different to the norm.

9. A consortium of entities that are dependant on satellite services and have through negotiations been able to make the most of their funds.

• Building economies of scale – combining their needs by banding together to resolve mutual bandwidth concerns.
• A consortium of entities/ISP’s that group together and secure cheaper rates and better services to their clients

10. Putting the customer first – the satellite provider who has put the customer’s needs ahead of their own.

• This award applies to a company that has passed along a business opportunity to a competitor, when they felt that they could not handle the customer demand themselves. 
• The company was capacity constrained and found capacity on a competitor’s network
• They did not try to rebrand another operator’s service as their own, but was transparent about the transaction with his customerd out more.

Have a look at the judging process

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nominations by 15/02/2008   Nominations deadline Submit all nominations by 15/02/2008   Award categories 1) VSAT operator award - best company / personality of the year  2) African regulator personality of the year 3) Africa's satellite personality of the year 4) Satellite operator of the year 5) Innovative application of satellite technology in Africa 6) Ministry official of the year 7) Best contributor towards education and training in the satellite industry  8) Satellite provider / operator that has contributed most to the operation of international organisations 9) A group of entities that have negotiated for better rates and services to their clients 10) Customer Service Award - for the satellite operator that puts the customer first › More on the award categories and criteria › Nominate a company or individual for one of these categories!

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