2006

The winners of The 2006 ISPAs - The 8th Annual UK Internet Industry Awards in association with epitiro - were announced at a gala dinner in London on Thursday 23rd February, 2006.

ISPA is grateful to the category sponsors, the drinks reception sponsor Affiniti, the table entertainment sponsor Outblaze, the attendees and Dominic Holland the compere for the evening.

Congratulations to all the finalists, the company that received a Commendation for Innovation and of course the winners.

ISP Division

Best Dial-Up sponsored by Brightfilter

The finalists were as follows:

  • BISCit Internet
  • NTL
  • PlusNet
  • Tesco
  • Waitrose

Winner: BISCit Internet

An ISPA spokesperson said, "The judges considered BISCit Internet to offer the best all-round dial-up package, combining a simple and cost-effective product with superior levels of customer support.”

Best Hosting Provider sponsored by VeriSign

The finalists were as follows:

  • Donhost
  • Entanet
  • FreeNetName
  • Keen Computers
  • UKFast

Winner: UKFast

An ISPA spokesperson said, "A unanimous judging panel felt that UKFast was the clear and decisive winner. UKFast offers clients a free and full daily back-up service as standard and an impressive service level guarantee with a firm commitment to uptime. UKFast offers personal and friendly customer support, with a technical person promising to pick up the phone within three rings. With this commitment to customer service and support, UKFast “wins hands down”.”

Best Portal sponsored by mnet

The finalists were as follows:

  • Blueyonder Broadband
  • Bulldog
  • Tesco
  • Tiscali
  • UK Online

Winner: Tiscali

An ISP spokesperson said, "The judges were impressed with the vast range of information and the variety of the content available at www.tiscali.co.uk. The portal can be accessed from user’s PCs or on the move through WAP technology, and is clearly signposted and easy to navigate. Tiscali’s portal was said to be “rammed” with “all the value-added information you’d want and expect from your ISP”."

Best Streaming Service sponsored by Bulldog

The finalists were as follows:

  • Global-Mix
  • Groovy Gecko
  • Mydeo
  • RealNetworks
  • Streaming Wizard

Winner: Groovy Gecko

An ISPA spokesperson said, "The judges were impressed with the range of formats that Groovy Gecko’s streaming services support, including Windows, QuickTime, Flash and Real Networks and 3gp technologies. Groovy Gecko provides accessible and high level streaming services with a variety of flexible contracts for its clients.”

Best Uncontended Service sponsored by Alcatel

The finalists were as follows:

  • Affiniti
  • Blueyonder Broadband
  • Internap
  • mnet
  • Zen Internet

Winner: Zen Internet

An ISPA spokesperson said, "The judges felt that Zen were one of the “original and best” ISPs, offering an uncontended service which stands as the benchmark in terms of quality and innovation. Zen was said to “deliver on its promises”, with excellent and reliable connectivity, customer care and technical support.”

Best Light Business Broadband sponsored by BT Wholesale

The finalists were as follows:

  • Exa Networks
  • Kingston Communications
  • Lumison
  • Nildram
  • Zen Internet

Winner: Exa Networks

An ISPA spokesperson said, "The judges considered Exa Networks to offer a balanced offering which was perfectly suited for smaller businesses. Exa Networks’ strength was said to lie in its simplicity; offering affordable and simple connectivity, effective email filtering and good customer care, with no hidden costs.”

Best Light Consumer Broadband sponsored by Caudwell Logistics

The finalists were as follows:

  • Entanet
  • Karoo
  • NTL
  • Tesco
  • UK Online

Winner: UK Online

An ISPA spokesperson said, "The judges felt UK Online stood out as an ISP which understands that price sensitivity is a key driver in consumer’s transition to faster broadband services, and it was the first ISP to break the £10 per month barrier (in certain areas). It is an affordable and most importantly robust service, with impressive levels of support and customer care, unlimited downloads with no caps and a 200MB mailbox.”

Best Heavy Business Broadband sponsored by Huawei Technologies

The finalists were as follows:

  • Demon
  • Lumison
  • mnet
  • PIPEX
  • Zen Internet

Winner: Zen Internet

An ISPA spokesperson said, "The judges considered Zen to be a co-operative and supportive service provider. The judges were impressed with Zen’s flexible contract, the speed of the set up time and all at a competitive price. 24/7 support reflects the understanding that businesses need Internet access around the clock, while Zen’s customers receive personal technical support from a “real person, not a blank email wall”.”

Best Heavy Consumer Broadband sponsored by Axiom Systems

The finalists were as follows:

  • BISCit Internet
  • Madasafish
  • NTL
  • Seriously Internet
  • Waitrose

Winner: Madasafish

An ISPA spokesperson said, "The judges considered Madasafish to offer a great product which represents real value for money. They were impressed with the “sensible extras” offered by Madasafish, including a generous 20GB download limit for consumers. The judges also applauded Madasafish for offering an inclusive broadband service, which supports both Apple Mac and PC users.”

Best Sumo Business Broadband sponsored by Hostopia

The finalists were as follows:

  • Be Unlimited
  • Kingston Communications
  • mnet
  • Telewest Business Essentials

Winner: Telewest Business Essentials

An ISPA spokesperson said, "The judges commended Telewest Business Essential’s “interesting and innovative SME offering.” Telewest provides clients with a “nice looking” package, offering reliability, value for money and a level of support which reflects Telewest’s understanding that SMEs will not necessarily have their own technical support department.”

Best Sumo Consumer Broadband sponsored by F-Secure

The finalists were as follows:

  • Be Unlimited
  • Blueyonder Broadband
  • Karoo
  • UK Online

Winner: Be Unlimited

An ISPA spokesperson said, "The judges felt that Be Unlimited were “pushing the broadband boundaries” by offering consumers an innovative service through ADSL 2+ technology which aims to reach speeds of up to 24MB. Be Unlimited delivers “great higher speeds” to its users and was felt to be “an interesting challenger to the big boys”.”

Best Business ISP sponsored by Cisco Systems

The finalists were as follows:

  • Entanet
  • Exa Networks
  • PIPEX
  • UKFast
  • Zen Internet

Winner: Zen Internet

An ISPA spokesperson said, "The judges considered Zen’s personal approach to its customers, providing dedicated technical support and account management, to be extremely valuable to business users. Zen offers an impressive overall package of hosting and connectivity services, and has worked hard to promote its SDSL services. The judges also recognised Zen’s great Corporate Social Responsibility credentials through its commitment to local schools, communities and charities.”

Best Consumer ISP sponsored by MasterCard

The finalists were as follows:

  • BISCit Internet
  • NTL
  • PIPEX
  • Tesco
  • Wanadoo

Winner: Wanadoo

An ISPA spokesperson said, "The judges considered Wanadoo to offer a “very attractive product package” with a great variety of value-added extras for their consumers. The judges were particularly impressed with Wanadoo’s innovative ‘Livebox’ product, which offers wireless connectivity and VoIP to Wanadoo’s users. Wanadoo’s consideration for the security of its customers was noted by the standard of its anti-abuse service and a strong commitment to the protection of children online.”

An ISPA spokesperson continued, "The judges deemed that PIPEX should be awarded a Commendation for Innovation for its customer loyalty programme. PIPEX are fighting the churn of customers by rewarding loyalty with gifts, which demonstrates PIPEX’s commitment to the quality of care of its customers.”

Special Division

The Internet Watch Foundation Award for Developments in Online Safety sponsored by Pipex.

The finalists were as follows:

  • Get Safe Online
  • Know IT All
  • Parents Centre
  • UK Children Go Online
  • Virtual Global Taskforce

Winner: Virtual Global Taskforce

An ISPA spokesperson said, “The Virtual Global Taskforce received this award for the partnership between worldwide law enforcement agencies and the Internet industry which is working to make the Internet a safer place for children.”

The Internet Villain Award is sponsored by Community Internet.

The finalists were as follows:

  • Commissioner Reding
  • The European Commission
  • Russia
  • Sony BMG
  • The UK Presidency of the European Union

Winner: The UK Presidency of the European Union

An ISPA spokesperson said, “The UK Presidency of the European Union received this award for seeking EU wide data retention laws which will force ISPs and telcos to retain more data for longer without proper impact assessment.”

The Internet Hero Award is sponsored by NTL Wholesale.

The finalists were as follows:

  • All Party Parliamentary Internet Group (APIG)
  • Independent Office of the Telecommunications Adjudicator
  • Ofcom
  • Ofcom
  • Roger Darlington

Winner: All Party Parliamentary Internet Group (APIG)

An ISPA spokesperson said, “The All Party Parliamentary Internet Group received this award for its recommendations to amend the Computer Misuse Act (CMA) to further protect individual websites and the infrastructure of the Internet against the threat of distributed denial-of-service (DDOS) attacks.”