There was an even spread of winners at last night’s 15th ISPAs, with ISPs of all sizes sharing the spoils at the annual internet industry awards.   Broadband is the cheapest utility for households and the ISPAs show the strength, variety and competitiveness of the internet industry in the UK.

In the ISPAs 15th year, 15 awards were given out on the night, covering the entire spread of the internet sector, from consumer and b2b services, to hosting, safety and inclusion.

In a very close contest, Sky won the Consumer Fixed Broadband, their value added services giving them the edge. Plusnet won Best Consumer Customer Service, with the judges impressed at their ability to provide decent service to so many customers.

Catalyst2 walked away with two awards, picking up Best Business Customer Service and the coveted Customer Choice Award, which is decided by ISPs own customers.

KC improved on last year’s commendation to be named the overall winner of the Internet Safety & Security Award. The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) was commended for the role in making the internet a safer place.

New for this year, the Best Superfast Award went to Hyperoptic, a company who have grown hugely since winning Best New ISP at the 2012 ISPAs. Kent Wimax provider VFast took home Best Fixed Wireless, reflecting the growth of this innovative new services.

“ISPA would like to congratulate all the winners and thank all the attendees, judges and sponsors for making the evening possible,” said Nicholas Lansman, ISPA Secretary General. “It’s been a crucial year for the internet industry in the UK and the 15th Awards show the sheer diversity and innovation in a very successful part of British industry”.

The black tie ceremony at the Park Lane Hotel in London was attended by 300 industry representatives, politicians, media and government officials.  The evening was compered by comedian Sean Collins, with a keynote speech from broadcaster and technology critic Bill Thompson. Richard Cox, Chief Technology Officer for Spamhaus, who are also 15 years old. He thanked the internet industry for its support over the last 15 years. Spamhaus shot to recognition in the spring for its contribution fending off what was claimed to be the world’s biggest cyber-attack

For details of the winners see below and for more information and photos go to www.ispaawards.org.uk.

ISPA Awards 2013 Winners:

Best SME Business Hosting is: Storm Internet
Storm’s 24/7 support, adoption of IPv6 reliability and backup which are essential for SMEs meant they were a clear winner in the eyes of the judges

Best Large Business Hosting is: Fluidata
The judges were particularly impressed with Fluidata’s emphasis on bespoke solutions and level of support large businesses need.

Best Internet telephony sponsored by Magrathea is: Telappliant
In a very tight contest, the judges decided that Telappliant’s transparency and impressive network resilience meant they were worthy winners.

Best Managed Service Innovation is: Media Service Provider
The judges believed Media Service Provider’s innovative cross border music catalogue allows ISPs to provide the great music customers want, whilst also creating revenue for the artist.

Best Business Customer Service winner is: Catalyst2
Catalyst 2’s personal approach to customers, including listing the MD’s mobile number on their site as well as real time support tool impressed the judging panel to give them the edge.

Best Consumer Customer Service winner is: Plusnet
In a very close contest, the judges were impressed with the way customer service is engrained in the company’s culture recently, being able to provide excellent customer service to a vast number of customers.

Digital Inclusion in association with Go ON UK winner is: myLovelyParent
My Lovely Parent is raising digital skills in an innovative way, reaching out to some of the most isolated people in society, using the power of the internet to help tackle major issues in society.

Internet Safety & Security  winner is: KC, with IWF highly commended
The judges felt that KC’s (Kay-see) all-encompassing approach, from providing a secure ISP service, physical drop-in centres to education programmes, made them stand out.

The judges wanted to recognise the Internet Watch Foundation who have been integral to keeping the internet safe; it’s only fitting, in the ISPAs 15th year to commend them for their work in removing child-abuse content from the web.

Customer Choice Award winner is: Catalyst2
Thousands of customers took part and rated their ISPs on reliability, customer service and value for money – and Catalyst2 came out on top.

Best Fixed Wireless Award winner is: VFast
VFast’s one size fits all packages, local support and coverage in not-spot areas was particularly impressive and meant that VFast were the judge’s preference in a closely fought category.

Best Business Fixed Broadband winner is: Entanet
Entanet’s range of technologies, flexible options and all-hours support for businesses and resellers made them clear winners with the judges.

Best Consumer Fixed Broadband is: Sky Broadband
The judges felt the sheer range of Sky’s value added services – Wi-Fi roaming, Sky Go and other apps – all for a competitive price, made them worthy winners.

Best Superfast Broadband is: Hyperoptic
The judges were impressed with Hyperoptic’s growth and commitment to affordable and unrestricted Fibre-to-the-Home internet, bringing more and more people the full benefits of fibre.

Internet Hero: ISPA Council chose Julian Huppert MP for leading the political campaign against the Communications Data Bill and for being one of the few MPs to understand the internet.

Internet Villain: ISPA Council felt that Recep Erdogan’s continued censorship of the internet and calling social media ‘a menace to society’ means he earns the Internet Villain award in 2013.

About the ISPA Awards

The 2013 ISPA Awards are the internet industry awards and were the 15th ISPAs. To reflect the latest industry developments we have introduced Best Superfast and Best Fixed Wireless, both categories that have seen important growth in the last year. Superfast take up is a key priority for the government, and Fixed Wireless presents a good solution for getting broadband to rural parts of the UK.

The awards ceremony was on 11th July 2013 in the Park Lane Sheraton hotel in London and full information about the awards can be found at www.ispaawards.org.uk. Bill Thompson gave the keynote speech. We are very happy to announce that the Internet Telephony Award is sponsored by Magrathea and the Best Internet Hero and Internet Villain Awards are sponsored by internet fulfilment experts  NetLynk Direct.

For further information please contact the ISPA Press Office (020 3397 3308).