The year long battle between players in the telecom industry to prove their mettle, settled with the culmination of this year's V&D100 Awards. Names of top companies in several segments were announced on the basis of their performance monitored through the V&D100 survey conducted by VOICE&DATA magazine.

Telecom industry big-wigs attended the award ceremony in New Delhi to celebrate their achievements. Three special awards and thirty-six recognitions under different categories were announced.

A host of guests graced the occasion, which began with a comprehensive presentation by CyberMedia Publications' chief editor Prasanto K Roy, encapsulating the present day scenario of the ICT industry.

An eight-member jury constituting DPS Seth, former member Trai; SC Khanna, secretary general, Association of Unified Service Providers of India; NK Goyal, chairman Emeritus, Telecom Equipment Manufacturers Association of India; Amitabh Singhal, founder, ISPAI; Rajiv Nayan Jha, VP, CMAI; Vikram Tiwathia, CIO, CII; Pradeep Gupta, CMD, CyberMedia India; and DP Vaidya, president, VSAT Association of India, selected the special three winners from the names nominated by the industry.

Tata Telecommunications managing director and CEO Srinath N was adjudged the VOICE&DATA Telecom Person of the Year 2008, an award recognizing a key role played in steering the growth of the country's telecom industry.

Srinath N bagged the coveted award for his contribution in making VSNL a multinational company from being a domestic player. He played a pivotal role in leading the company to become the world's largest submarine cable network with its global footprint in eighty cities from forty countries. During his twenty-year tenure in the Tata Group, Srinath had led several projects in high-technology areas like process automation, control, and telecommunications. He was also involved in starting the company's CDMA services.

Srinath N, MD & CEO, Tata Communications, receiving the “Telecom Person of the Year” award from Wajahat Habibullah, chief information commissioner and Sahilendra Badoni, COO, Datacraft (right)

Wajahat Habibullah, chief information commissioner, addressing the gathering during the V&D award ceremony

Under Srinath's leadership, the company has grown from a single business focus, earning 90% of its revenue from wholesale ILD business to being a frontrunner in segments like wholesale voice, enterprise data, and retail broadband.

Last year Tata Communications emerged as a brand after integration of VSNL International, Tata Indicom Enterprise Business Unit, CIPRIS, and Tele globe. Tata Communications now manages South Africa's second largest national operator.

Prasanto K Roy, chief editor, CyberMedia making a presentation during the V&D 100 awards ceremony	Manoj Upadhayay, MD, Acme Tele Power, receiving the “Technovator of the Year” award from Wajahat Habibullah, chief information commissioner

This year, the company plans data center expansion and rolling out managed services to offer value-added and customized solution. It is also working on measures to expand its global MPLS and Ethernet networks.

IMImobile, that manages VAS content platforms for more than 200 operators and Web portals was named the Emerging Company of the Year. The company's role as a leading provider of carrier grade messaging platforms and voice platforms fetched honors for the company in the fifty-one countries in which it is operational. IMImobile has over 400 content partners and supports 202 operator deployments.

Acme Tele Power's managing director Manoj Upadhyay received the prestigious Technovator of the Year award for introducing innovative, energy efficient, and eco-friendly products for telecom infrastructure. Upadhayay has five patented products and processes to his credit.

A number of other top telecom companies walked home with awards for excellence in their respective fields and their performance in FY '08.

Team V&D
vadmail@cybermedia.co.in

Ashish Mishra , VP, Sales & Marketing, IMImobile, receiving the “Emerging Company of the Year” award from Wajahat Habibullah, chief information commissioner	Vivek Sharma, GM, Networking Business, Wipro Infotech, receiving the award for “Top Network Integrator” from Rajesh Chharia, president, ISPAI

Ranajoy Punja, VP, Business Devolpment and Adavnce Technologies, Cisco, receiving the award for “Top Router, Switch, and WLAN Company of the Year” from NK Goyal, chairman Emeritus, TEMA	Bob McDougall, director, Sales, Nokia, receiving the award for “Top Mobile Phone Company of the Year” from N K Goyal, chairman Emeritus, TEMA

SK Roy, deputy COO, GTL, receiving the award for 'Top Telecom Turnkey Company' from Rajiv Nayan Jha, VP, CMAI	Kuldeep Goyal, CMD, BSNL, receiving the award for “Top Fixed Services, NLD, and Broadband” from Pradeep Gupta, CMD, CyberMedia

Rajesh Thakur, GM sales, HCL Comnet receiving the award for “Top Networtk Management and Top Network Security Services” from Rajesh Chharia, president, ISPAI	Christopher Almeida, senior VP, Tata Communications, receiving the award for “Top ILD Company of the Year” award from Pradeep Gupta, CMD, CyberMedia

Partha Banerjee, MD, Hughes Communications, receiving the award for “Top VSAT services provider of the Year” from SC Khanna, secretary general, AUSPI	Alok Ohri, president, EMC for India and SAARC, receiving the award for “Top Network Storage Service” from SC Khanna, secretary general, AUSPI

Arvind Rao, CEO, OnMobile, receiving the award for “Top VAS Company of the Year” from SC Khanna, secretary general, AUSPI	Sivasamban N, VP & deputy head, Telecom Practice, TCS, receiving the award for “Top Telecom Software Company of the Year” from SC Khanna, secretary general, AUSPI

Ravichandran, CEO, Atrie Technology, receiving the award for “Top Modem Company of the Year” from Vikram Tiwathia, chief information officer, CII	Manoj Kottil, COO, Arvind Mills, receiving the “Top Radio Trunking Company of the Year” award from SC Khanna, secretary general, AUSPI

Protip Ghose, VP, Sales & Marketing, Apac, Telsima receiving the award for “Top WiMax Comapany of the Year” from Vikram Tiwathia, chief information officer, CII	Kiran Pande, country manager, ECI receiving the award for “Top Transmission Company of the Year” from Vikram Tiwathia, chief information officer, CII

Steve Koh, country head, CDMA Terminals, LG Electronics, receiving the award for “Top Fixed Wireless Phone Company of the Year” from Vikram Tiwathia, chief information officer, CII	Sunil Goyal, MD, Bharti Teletech, receiving the award for “Top Fixed Phone Company of the Year” from Vikram Tiwathia, chief information officer, CII

Manish Aggarwal, head, Marketing, Telecom Cables, Sterlite, receiving the award for “Top Telecom Cable Company of the Year” from DPS Seth, former member, Trai	Mats Granryd, MD, Ericsson India, receiving the award for “Top Wireless Infrastructure Equipment Company of the Year” from DPS Seth, former member, Trai

Sanjay Kapoor, president, Mobilty Services, Bharti Airtel responding to a question after receiving the award for “Top Cellular and Broadband Services” from DPS Seth, former member, Trai as Atul Bindal, president, Bharti Telemedia looks on

Mahadevan Vishwanathan, country head, Sales Electronic Measurement Group, Agilent Technologies, India receiving the “Top Test & Measurement Company of the Year” award from Rajiv Nayan Jha, VP, CMAI	Vijay Yadav, MD, South Asia, UTStarcom India receiving “Top Broadband Infrastructure Company of the Year” award from SC Khanna, secretary general, AUSPI

Anil Nair, president, Avaya Global Connect, receiving the award for “Top Enterprise Voice Solutions Company of the Year” from DPS Seth, former member, Trai	KK Shetty, director, Sales & Marketing (India & Saarc), AMP, receiving the award for “Top Structured Cabling Company” from DPS Seth, former member, Trai

Yugal Sharma, regional director, (India & South Asia), Polycom, receiving the award for “Top Audio-Video Conferencing Company Award” from DPS Seth, former member, TRAI	Ranajoy Punja, VP, Business Development and Advance Technologies, Cisco, receiving the award for “Top Enterprise Equipment Company of the Year” from Wajahat Habibullah, chief information commisssioner

Bob McDougall, director, Sales, Nokia, receiving the award for “Top Telecom Equipment Company of the Year” from Wajahat Habibullah, chief information commisssioner	Kuldeep Goyal, CMD, BSNL receiving the award for “Top Telecom Service Provider of the Year” from Wajahat Habibullah, chief information commisssioner, and Nisha Sidhwani, CEO, Seeinfobiz