Tickets Selling Fast at the 13th Annual ISPA Awards -
Early Bird Saving ends 7th June

Tickets are now on sale for the 2011 ISPA Awards with an early bird price on tables priced at £1,000 for a table of 10 available until June 7th. The Awards is a celebration of the great and the good in industry achievements and provides a unique networking opportunity with senior representatives in the internet sector, government, parliamentarians and the media.

Currently there is an early bird discount on tables seating 10 costing just £1,000 if you book before June 7th. You can book tickets directly from the website or contact ISPA for other payment options.

The ISPA Awards take place on July 7th from 7:30pm at the Lancaster London Hotel. It is a black-tie event featuring a three-course meal, entertainment from top comedian Adam Bloom, the awards presentation itself, and live music to close.

The awards are sponsored by Magrathea, Plusnet, BE Wholesale, UKFast, Geo, Virtual Internet and NewNet. If you are interested in hearing more about promoting your company’s profile at the “Internet event of the year”, then contact the ISPA Awards team on 020 7340 8741 or emailawards@ispa.org.uk.

Award Finalists and Internet Heroes and Villains Unveiled

ISPA Announced the finalists for the ISPA Awards this month with 46 companies nominated across thirteen categories. The public were also asked to submit their suggestions for the Internet Hero and Villain for the first time.

Catalyst2, C4L, Exa Networks, KC, MacAce.net, O2 UK, UKFast and Virgin Media are leading the way having been nominated in three categories each.

Nominations for the Internet Hero include Prof. Ian Hargreaves for his recent recommendations on making IP fit for the digital age and Judge Colin Birss QC for his damning judgement on ACS Law.

Nominations for the Internet Villain include the New Zealand Government for being the latest country to put in to law a three strikes rule and ACS Law/Andrew Crossley for bringing the legal profession “into disrepute” with its speculative invoicing.

The Internet Hero category is awarded to an individual or organisation in recognition of their achievements for the Internet and the Internet industry and the Internet Villain is a light-hearted award presented to an individual or organisation in recognition of their achievements in hindering the industry.

Winners will be announced on the 7th July. For more information about the event and for the full list of finalists go to www.ispaawards.org.uk.

ISPA Parliamentary Advisory Forum to Discuss Online Parental Controls 

ISPA is holding it's annual Parliamentary Advisory Forum on the topic of parental controls on June 20th in Portcullis House. The event is hosted by Claire Perry MP and speakers include; Minister Ed Vaizey MP; Dido Harding, TalkTalk; Justine Roberts, Mumsnet; Dr Clarissa Smith, University of Sunderland; Mike Galvin, BT; and John Carr OBE, Internet consultant on child safety.

On the agenda for discussion will be the issue of children's access to harmful and inappropriate content on the Internet, following recent calls for ISPs to filter adult content at a network level by default, which users would have to opt out of.

This raises a number of important questions including definitions of adult content and the danger of censorship, users’ privacy, ease of circumvention and the advantages of individual device filtering.

The Forum will be attended by parliamentarians, government officials, key industry players and other relevant stakeholders to discuss this important and timely issue.

The event will be in a seminar-style, with a Q&A session after the panel discussion, and will take place on June 20, 3-5pm in the Boothroyd Room, Portcullis House, Westminster. Please RSVP to admin@ispa.org.uk if you would like to attend this event.

Four New Members Join in May 

Broadband choice, Hyperoptic Ltd, WebHostingBuzz.co.uk and Broadband Wherever all joined ISPA in May.

Broadband choice provide broadband comparison services; Hyperoptic Ltdis a new company providing fibre services; WebHostingBuzz.co.uk provide Web Hosting, Reseller Hosting and Dedicated Servers; and Broadband Wherever services include satellite broadband and internet.

A full list of ISPA members can be found here and you can phone or email ISPA for information about membership benefits at admin@ispa.org.uk or 020 7340 8741.

ISPA Awards Sponsor BE Wholesale Takes Broadband to a New Level 

BE Wholesale is sponsoring the Best Business Broadband category at the ISPA Awards and is also the UK’s newest wholesale broadband provider, challenging the online experience for UK ISPs by injecting much needed choice and innovation into the wholesale broadband market.

An LLU carrier with over 70% coverage in the UK, BE Wholesale is a genuine and refreshing alternative to the old, established broadband carriers. At the heart of its difference is a network which delivers speed, capacity and consistency, with no need for line management or throttling.

BE Wholesale offers fast and simple migration as well as full visibility into the network, right up to port level, which means partners have full control over their service proposition.

To find out more about BE Wholesale’s superfast, uncongested ADSL2+ network and enable your customers to operate in high definition whether it’s for VoIP, cloud computing or data transfer, visitwww.bewholesale.co.uk, email contact@bewholesale.co.uk, call 0203 355 5043 or visit us at our stand at the ISPA Awards on the 7th July.

Members Discounts to Events in June 

The Connected Home World Summit taking place in London on 28-29 June 2011 will address every aspect of the new medium and its relevance across the whole value chain.

As a member of the ISPA you are entitled to a 15% discount on the registration fee. To claim your discount, click here and quote your priority code: I38DC ISPA.

Guardian Activate Summit is a one-day summit for leaders working across all sectors who are building a better future through
technology and the internet.

The event is on Wednesday 22 June in London and there is a 15% discount for all ISPA members. Go tohttp://www.guardian.co.uk/activate/london.

ISPA members also receive discounts on media publications and legal and analyst services on the deals for members section of the website (login details required).

ISPA in the News 

The ISPA Secretary General, Nicholas Lansman spoke on the BBC World News (TV) this month about Internet regulation and gave evidence at a joint bill committee on defamation. ISPA was also quoted in the news on issues including broadband capacity, The Hargreaves Review and the ISPA Awards.

You can get regular updates from ISPA by following us on Twitter -twitter.com/ISPAUK