The Internet Services Providers’ Association (ISPA UK) has today announced the finalists for the 2014ISPAs, the UK’s longest running internet industry awards now in its 16th year.

Forty organisations have been shortlisted this year, once again demonstrating the sheer breadth and strength of our sector, with Catalyst2 and Hyperoptic leading the way with five nominations each and FidoNet with four.  ISPs such as Sky, Plusnet and KC are on three, alongside Gradwell, MacAce and Exa Networks. As well as ISPs and hosts, organisations such as Go On UK, Nominet and the Internet Watch Foundation are also up for awards this year.

ISPs enter themselves into the awards, with the shortlists being determined by technical testing, customer feedback and detailed written entry forms.  Commenting on the shortlist, Chair of Judges Andrew Ferguson from thinkbroadband said “the technical testing phase of the awards is an important check to ensure a good level of technical performance is behind each of the categories tested”. This process makes the ISPAs the most diverse and independent awards in the sector.

The gala ceremony is taking place on the evening of Thursday 10th July at the Park Lane Hotel in London. Tickets for the event can be purchased here.

2014 has been a bumper year for the internet industry, playing a pivotal role in helping the UK economy grow. We have introduced two new categories for this year, Best Use of Digital and Best Business Use of Cloud, to reflect the growth of new services and to reward the innovative firms who invest in delivering services.

ISPA Secretary General Nick Lansman said “Congratulations to all those shortlisted for the 2014 ISPAs which again shows the real strength and diversity of the UK internet sector, which underpins the whole economy. The new categories reflect the massive rise in cloud and digital services in the last year, and it’s great to reward those who have innovated in these areas. Best of luck to all those nominated, and I look forward to the ceremony  in July”.

The ISPA Awards wouldn’t be possible without the support of the Awards sponsors, who are also keen to support those nominated. Linus Surguy of Magrathea Telecom who sponsor Best VoIP said “we are proud to once again sponsor the ISPA awards. The ISPAs are an excellent opportunity for all involved in the industry to get together to celebrate innovation and excellence and we congratulate the nominees for reaching the short list.”

Commenting on behalf of NetLynk Direct, Director Mark Fletcher said“Net Lynk is proud to continue its support of the annual ISPA Awards for 2014. We’d like to wish all nominees the best of luck and look forward to congratulating the winners on 10th July.”

Also congratulating the finalists, Tagadab Managing Director Steve Rawlinson, (themselves nominated for Best Dedicated Hosting) added “our growth as a company has been a result of providing the most reliable dedicated servers along with unparalleled service, innovative features and excellent support. We’re honoured to be recognised by the ISPA as a company who is meeting the growing demand for high-performing hosting solutions.”

The 2014 ISPAs shortlists

Best Superfast Broadband

  • Gigaclear
  • Gradwell
  • Hyperoptic
  • KC
  • Plusnet

Best Consumer Fixed Broadband

  • FidoNet
  • Hyperoptic
  • Keycom
  • Plusnet
  • Sky

Best Business Fixed Broadband

  • Bridge Partners
  • Fastnet
  • FidoNet
  • Gradwell
  • Urban Wimax

Best Wireless

  • Boundless
  • Keycom
  • Metronet (UK)
  • Wifinity

Customer Choice

  • Catalyst2
  • Hyperoptic
  • MacAce
  • Tesco
  • Plusnet
  • Sky

Best Shared Hosting

  • Catalyst2
  • Challenger
  • FidoNet
  • Heart Internet
  • MacAce
  • Netcetera

Best Dedicated Hosting

  • C4L
  • Catalyst2
  • Challenger
  • FidoNet
  • Storm Internet
  • Tagadab

Best VoIP

  • C4L
  • Gradwell
  • Soho66
  • Telappliant
  • iNet Telecoms (VoIPfone)
  • Voicehost

Best Consumer Customer Service

  • Ask4
  • Catalyst2
  • Hyperoptic
  • MacAce
  • Wifinity

Best Business Customer Service

  • Exa Networks
  • Fluidata
  • KC Business
  • ServerSpace
  • Soho66

Internet Safety & Security

  • Exa Networks
  • Internet Watch Foundation
  • Sky
  • Talk Straight (Schools Broadband)
  • TalkTalk

Managed Service Innovation

  • Catalyst2
  • Exa Networks
  • Memset
  • Storm Internet

Best Business Use of Cloud

  • CentraStage
  • Claranet SOHO
  • KC Business
  • Talk Straight (Schools Broadband)
  • StratoGen

Best Use of Digital

  • Go On UK
  • Hyperoptic
  • Nominet
  • TalkTalk 

About the ISPA Awards

The 2014 ISPA Awards will take place on 10th July 2014 at the Park Lane Hotel. These will be the 16th internet industry awards, with the ISPAs running since 1999. The Internet Hero and Internet Villain Awards are sponsored by Netlynk Direct. The Best VoIP Award is sponsored by Magrathea Telecom, with hosting specialists Tagadab sponsoring Best Use of Digital. Wick Hill is sponsoring the Internet Safety and Security Award.