2002
At a ceremony in the Olympia Conference Centre, London on 13 th February 2002, the following were announced as winners of the Internet Services Providers' Association Internet Industry Awards - The 2002 ISPAs @ ISPCON.
Best National Consumer ISP sponsored by SurfControl
- Winner: Freeserve
Market research conducted by Durlacher, ranked Freeserve first among the UKs National ISPs serving the consumer market. Over the last 12 months the number of ports (modems that enable a user to log on to the Internet) owned by Freeserve has increased by 110%. Their network is now big enough to serve more than 5 million customers. A notable innovation from Freeserve in 2001 was the Lennox Lewis pay-per-view opportunity, enabling users to view narrowband content from the Lewis training camp in the run up to the world title fight in South Africa in April 2001.
Best Pan-European Consumer ISP sponsored by Eutelsat
- Winner: AOL
Market research conducted by Durlacher ranked AOL first among the Pan-European ISPs serving the Consumer market. AOL has maintained a consistent brand and service across France, Sweden, Germany and the UK.
Best Virtual ISP sponsored by Inmarsat
- Winner: pgen.net from Powergen
On the basis of market research conducted by Durlacher, pgen.net was ranked first among the non-communications companies offering internet services. Pgen.net's backbone is provided through Affinity Internet. It offers different packages to suit users' Internet needs and users can offset net points earned against Powergen bills.
Best Unmetered ISP Sponsored by Mastercard
- Winner: Telewest Blueyonder
On the basis of market research conducted by Durlacher, Telewest Blueyonder was ranked first among ISPs offering unmetered access. Telewest offers Blueyonder surfunlimited, unmetered 24/7 dial-up service for a flat-fee of 10 pounds per month as part of its communications package and has been a significant player in offering broadband services to the consumer market.
Best National Business ISP sponsored by IX Europe
- Winner: Claranet
Claranet were seen to be cost centric, and agile and flexible enough to meet varied and changing business needs. Their customer service is excellent, in particular the personable, human-face nature of their service.
Best Pan-European Business ISP sponsored by Sprint
- Winner: Cable & Wireless
Cable & Wireless were seen to be truly Pan-European, have a strong brand and perform well financially. The company moves quickly to react to business demands and has consolidated its business across Europe.
Best Small Business ISP sponsored by Intel
- Winner: Pipex
The Judges felt Pipex was financially stable, consistent and dependable. They recognised that Pipex has focused solely on the SME market, with a targeted ambition to provide services to this sector, resulting in excellent service.
Best Application Service Provided by an ISP sponsored by IBM
- Winner: Blueyonder Workwise from Telewest
Blueyonder was seen to be a clear IT utility offering with a low cost entry point. The Judges felt it was a sensible bundling of basic services and "future proof" in this volatile market.
Best Hardware Supplier sponsored by BT Ignite
- Winner: Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems was noted by the judges for their customer service, accreditation scheme, services for ISPs and their focus on serving the UK market.
Best Carrier sponsored by Pipex
- Winner: Energis
Energis were noted for their excellent customer service and very low churn rate for subscribers.
Best Co-Location Provider sponsored by Freeserve
- Winner: IX Europe
IX Europe stood out from all the other nominees for its 5 minute response time commitment and service at times of crises.
Best Internet Application or Service sponsored by AOL
- Winner: Inktomi Search Solutions
The judges regarded the Inktomi product as a very useful application with good performance that brings obvious value to an ISP.
Internet Hero sponsored by XchangePoint
- Winner: Elizabeth France, Information Commissioner
The judges described Elizabeth France as, "Sympathetic to industry, non-bureaucratic and pragmatic, cooperative and helpful in a number of issues including the legal aspects of spam, data retention and preservation."
Internet Villain
- Winner: The Home Office
The Industry's frustration over the delay of the full implementation of the RIP Act encouraged the judges to award Internet Villain to the Home Office. Part 1 Chapter II will not be implemented on the 4 th March as promised. It was felt that such delays make it difficult for the Industry to make the necessary preparations for working with the new legislation.
The Internet Watch Foundation Award for developments in the Field of Online Safety sponsored by WorldCom
- Winner: BBC