World Communication Awards

For more than two decades, the World Communication Awards (WCAs) has set the global benchmark for excellence, innovation, and leadership across the telecoms industry. Recognised worldwide as one of the sector’s most prestigious honours, the WCAs celebrate the companies and individuals driving meaningful change and shaping the future of global communications. 

The WCAs is judged by an independent panel of more than 100 industry experts and every entry undergoes a rigorous review process to ensure the awards recognise genuine innovation, measurable impact, and outstanding achievements, 

From 5G, AI, cloud and cyber security to submarine networks, sustainability, crisis response, customer experience and beyond, there is a category for every part of the telecoms ecosystem. 

Think you could be a winner? Make sure you get started on your entry today! Enter all nominations before the deadline on Friday 19th June 2026. Top tip: you can part complete your entry and come back to it later. 

Winners from the World Communication Awards 2025

5G Award 

Winner: Singtel, in partnership with Ericsson, for Singtel 5G+ 

(Silver Award: KT, AICT Company)  

Access Innovation 

Winner: Ericsson and Telstra for the world’s first 5G triple-band FDD Massive MIMO 

(Silver Award: Rakuten Symphony, Rakuten Site Management’s Fiber Manager)  

AI Innovation 

Winner: Jio Platforms for JioBrain 

(Silver Award: Chunghwa Telecom) 

Best Digital Transformation Programme 

Winner: Ericsson and IOH for their Digital Monetization Platform 

(Silver Award: Jazz and Huawei) 

Best Network Evolution Initiative 

Winner: Colt Technology Services for their global Optical network 

(Silver Award: Telefónica Global Solutions) 

Best operator in a Growth Market 

Winner: Lumitel 

(Silver Awards: Smart Axiata) 

Best Wholesale Operator 

Winner: Orange Wholesale 

(Silver Award: Colt Technology Services, Wholesale SIP) 

Beyond Connectivity Award 

Winner: VEON for JazzCash 

(Silver Award: PT Telkomsel) 

Cloud Award 

Winner: Jio Platforms for its Cloud Platforms and Private MEC 

(Silver Award: Rakuten Symphony for Rakuten Cloud) 

Connected Communities Award 

Winner: Airband for its next generation Fixed Wireless Access 

(Silver Award: Fibrus) 

Crisis Response Award 

Winner: Palestine Telecommunications Company – Jawwal 

(Silver Award: Prima Limited, ICN1 Earthquake crisis response in Vanuatu) 

Cyber Security Award 

Winner: Jio Platforms for its Quantum-Safe Security Suite 

(Silver Award: Bridge Alliance and Aeris Communications, Aeris IoT WatchtowerTM) 

Enterprise Service of the Year 

Winner: China Broadcasting Network & AsiaInfo Technologies for their Smart Wind Farm private 5G network 

(Silver Award: Singtel, Singtel 5G+ Priority and Enterprise Mobile Protect) 

Future Award 

Winner: Singtel for its Quantum-Safe Network 

(Silver Award: Cohere Technologies) 

People and Culture Award 

Winner: Viettel Group 

(Silver Award: Deutsche Telekom – Europe Segment, DT Europe Talent Powerhouse) 

Platform Award 

Winner: Singtel for the Paragon Platform 

(Silver Award: Rakuten Symphony, Rakuten Cloud-Native Platform) 

Satellite Telecoms Award 

Winner: Telefonica Global Solutions 

(Silver Award: VEON and Kyivstar, Kyivstar/Starlink) 

Social Contribution Award 

Winner: Helium 

(Silver Award: Moldcell Foundation) 

Submarine Networks Award 

Winner: EllaLink 

(Silver Award: Telin) 

Sustainability Award 

Winner: Vodafone & Closing the Loop, One for One 

(Silver Award: KT, AI-based ES Orchestrator) 

Total Experience Award 

Winner: Sparkle 

(Silver Award: China Mobile (Guangdong) & Huawei, AI+BOSS) 

Next Gen Award 

Winner: Chiago Akpata – Senior Manager, Regulatory Affairs at Bayobab 

(Silver Award: Sam Sham, RETN) 

Startup of the Year Award 

Winner: nodeQ 

(Silver Award: A5G Networks) 

The World Communication Awards 2026 are your opportunity to showcase your achievements on a global stage. Start your entry today! 

SUBCO and Firmus are teaming up to build some subsea fiber that’s, well, under down under. The new cable will connect the island of Tasmania to the rest of Australia.  It will be the island’s first new fiber connection in a couple of decades. … [visit site to read more]

Press Release

Vodafone Business and Geely Technology Europe (GTEU), the European R&D organisation within Geely Auto Group, have extended their partnership to include Internet in the Car, Mobile Private Networks, and Cloud Connect solutions.

The Internet in the Car service from Vodafone Business supports capabilities such as diagnostics and over-the-air software updates, while Cloud Connect ensures secure data transfer between vehicles and cloud systems. This means Geely can monitor vehicle’s performance and support improvements to the driver experience.

In addition, Vodafone provides secure and reliable connectivity across Geely Technology Europe’s operations in Germany and Sweden, as well as with its pan-European sales teams.

GTEU plays a key role in developing the vehicle architectures, digital platforms, and intelligent systems. These provide customers with highly responsive integrated in-car internet and digital services such as dynamic electric vehicle (EV) charging planning and 3D lane guidance. Central to this is equipping vehicles with the latest software, data, and connected services.

Moving beyond simple transport solutions

Giovanni Lanfranchi, CEO at Geely Technology Europe, said: “We’ve moved beyond simple transport solutions. Today, vehicles can be continuously improved through software, with data and connectivity enabling a more responsive and personalised user experience over time.”

Vodafone Business’ vehicle services support GTEU in responding to customer insights, continuously enhancing its vehicles long after they leave the showroom. One example is Zeekr Navigation, where secure, always‑on connectivity enables instant in‑vehicle customer feedback. This shortens development cycles and improves GTEU’s ability to identify issues and deploy improvements rapidly.

Fanan Henriques, Vodafone Business Product and International Business Director of Vodafone Business, added: “As the adoption rate of electric vehicles continues to grow, the opportunities to enhance their safety, efficiency and the user experience through digital connectivity are significant.

“We’re supporting Geely’s growth in vehicle sales across Europe and its operations with a secure, multi-service digital infrastructure.”

98% of vehicles connected

Vodafone Business is providing solutions tailored to international cybersecurity, data protection, and regulatory compliance needs, while enabling Geely to scale rapidly across regions by leveraging Vodafone’s extensive global network. For example, Vodafone Internet in the Car service combines Vodafone’s global managed Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity platform, which currently has over 240 million connections worldwide, with local internet service providers.

By 2030, it’s expected that more than 98% of new passenger vehicles sold will be connected. Vodafone Business, working with Geely, is ready to help drive this expansion.

Also in the news
TELUS and L-SPARK give Canadian startups access to AI supercomputer
Belden to acquire RUCKUS Networks for $1.85bn
VMO2 taps Suffolk solar farm for 10 years of clean energy

Papua New Guinea’s state-owned telco Telikom PNG has joined the Starlink bandwagon after announcing it has signed a deal to become the country’s second authorised Starlink reseller as of last Friday.

Telikom plans to offer Starlink’s LEO satellite broadband service primarily to government departments, SMEs, verticals such as financial services and mining, and anyone currently using VSAT services.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Telikom said it will support the service locally via customer service, billing, installation, technical support, enterprise solutions and managed services.

Telikom CEO Amos Tepi said the Starlink partnership is not about replacing existing services, but complementing and enhancing connectivity options for customers and providing reliable, affordable, and resilient connectivity.

« As a country, we must continue to build redundancy across all critical communications infrastructure. Fibre networks, mobile networks, microwave connections, submarine cables, cloud infrastructure, and satellite technologies must work together to ensure our nation remains connected, » Tepi said in a statement.

Telikom’s Starlink announcement follows last week’s news that Digicel PNG became the first operator in the country to sign a reseller deal with Starlink.

Both announcements came after an April 2026 ruling by the PNG National Court overturned a ban on Starlink operations originally imposed by the Ombudsman Commission in 2024, which enabled the National Information and Communications Technology Authority (NICTA) to approve Starlink’s operator license.

News

“France is uniquely positioned to become a leading AI infrastructure hub in Europe,” says SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son.

This week, SoftBank Group has announced plans to invest up to €75 billion to deploy 5 GW of AI-focused data centres in France.

Phase one of the project will see €45 billion building out 3.1 GW of AI data centre capacity at a variety of locations in northern France including Dunkirk, Bosquel, and Bouchain.

The first of these new locations is expected to be operational by 2031, with additional sites to be announced at a later date.

SoftBank Group will work with national energy company EDF and digital automation specialist Schneider Electric throughout the project.

“SoftBank is proud to make this major commitment to France,” said SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son. “With its industrial capabilities, talent base and national ambition, France is uniquely positioned to become a leading AI infrastructure hub in Europe.”

The French government praised the decision, similarly highlighting the favourable environment for data centre deployments.

“SoftBank’s decision to invest massively in AI datacenters in France – a first for the group in Europe – is testament to President Emmanuel Macron’s ambition to position France as a leading destination all along the AI value chain,” said Roland Lescure, Minister of Economy, Finance, & Industrial, Energy, & Digital Sovereignty. “ It reflects our country’s substantial assets: fast access to the most reliable electrical grid in Europe, a strong digital and industrial ecosystem with a skilled workforce, and a government that works in unison with local authorities and stakeholders to fast track procedures for strategic projects.”

France is quickly becoming something of a European champion for AI data centres, with major tech and telco consortium AION pledging to build an ‘AI gigafactory’ in the country just last month.

For SoftBank, on the other hand, this announcement comes as an addendum to its Stargate Project, which pledges to deploy $500 billion-worth of AI infrastructure in partnership with Open AI over the next four years.

As well as expanding its AI capacity, SoftBank is also digging deeper into the AI value chain. Last month, the company announced plans to build its own batteries to support its own AI data centres, suggesting that these batteries could eventually be sold to others.

Also in the news
TELUS and L-SPARK give Canadian startups access to AI supercomputer
Belden to acquire RUCKUS Networks for $1.85bn
VMO2 taps Suffolk solar farm for 10 years of clean energy

Some subsea fiber, a bit of data center consolidation, and some last mile fiber: … [visit site to read more]

FLAG has launched a new subsea route between Chennai and Singapore, adding capacity and route diversity along one of Asia’s busiest connectivity corridors.

The privately-owned subsea cable operator said the route forms part of its Vision 2030 strategy to strengthen global network resilience and expand coverage in key digital markets.

The Chennai-Singapore route follows FLAG’s Mumbai-Singapore investment announced in 2025 and provides a second, geographically distinct connection between India and Singapore. The company said the new path will improve network resilience and offer additional routing options for customers across South and Southeast Asia.

When combined with FLAG’s ECHO subsea cable system linking Singapore and the US, the route also creates new connectivity options between India and the United States, reducing reliance on traditional westbound routes through the Middle East and Europe.

FLAG said the infrastructure is designed to support cloud providers, content delivery networks, enterprises and international carriers seeking greater network redundancy and lower latency.

Chief Strategy and Revenue Officer Paul Abfalter said growing demand for digital services means operators can no longer rely on a limited number of international routes. He added that the new link strengthens FLAG’s ability to manage and reroute traffic across a more resilient network architecture.

Vice President of Product Nadya Melic described India as a key market for FLAG, adding that Chennai is an increasingly important connectivity hub for linking the country into global digital networks.

The launch forms part of FLAG’s broader investment strategy in India, where the company is expanding both its network footprint and local operations.

Liberia Telecommunications Authority (LTA) fined Orange Liberia LRD4 million (US$20,000) after finding the operator liable for the unauthorised issuance of a customer’s SIM card to a third party, resulting in a privacy and communications breach.

According to the regulator, the case involved customer Zelah Johnson, whose mobile number stopped working in February 2024 after the SIM card was allegedly reassigned without her consent. The third party later gained access to accounts linked to the SIM card, permanently locking her out.

The LTA said its investigation found Orange Liberia improperly issued the SIM card in violation of company procedures and licence conditions.

The regulator ruled that the operator failed to adequately protect customer information and breached provisions of Liberia’s Telecommunications Act of 2007 relating to customer confidentiality, data protection and unauthorised access to telecoms systems.

As part of the ruling, the LTA ordered Orange Liberia to disclose the identities of both the employee involved and the individual who obtained the SIM card.

The authority said the case highlights the importance of protecting consumer privacy and warned that operators would be held accountable for actions that compromise customer security.

Vietnamese operator Viettel has reportedly approved plans to launch telecoms operations in the Dominican Republic, a move that would make it the country’s fourth mobile operator.

According to Viet Nam News, Viettel’s board approved a $560 million investment on April 17 to build and operate telecoms and digital infrastructure across the Caribbean nation.

The expansion will lead to the creation of a new unit, Viettel Dominicana, although the company’s final corporate structure and local partnerships have yet to be confirmed.

The operator is expected to focus initially on mobile services, fixed broadband and mobile money during its first two years of operation. It then plans to expand further into areas including data centres, cloud computing, cybersecurity, IT services and digital logistics.

The Dominican Republic telecoms market is currently dominated by América Móvil-owned Claro, Altice and local operator Viva.

Claro reported 8.1 million mobile subscribers across its Caribbean operations, including the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, in the fourth quarter of 2025. Altice had around 1.5 million consumer mobile subscribers in the same period, while regulator Indotel reported Viva had approximately 450,000 subscribers.

The Dominican Republic has a population of around 11.5 million people and the largest economy in the Caribbean, with GDP reaching $124 billion in 2024, according to World Bank data.