Light Reading Expands Its Annual 'Leading Lights' Awards Program

NEW YORK, March 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Light Reading (www.lightreading.com), the market-leading online community for the global communications sector, has expanded its annual awards program, the 'Leading Lights,' with the addition of three new categories that recognize the importance of the communications networking industry's unsung sectors – Components, Test & Measurement and OSS/BSS.

"This is the tenth time we've run these awards and every year we get entries from software, test and components companies in our regular 'best product' categories, but they tend to get swamped by the entries of some of the bigger companies. Adding these new categories will help to level the playing field and introduce an additional competitive edge to this year's Leading Lights," says Light Reading editor-in-chief Ray Le Maistre.  

In total there are 16 categories: The complete list is:

• Best New Product (Cable)
• Best New Product (Mobile)
• Best New Product (Telecom)
• Most Innovative SMB Service
• Most Innovative Enterprise Service
• Most Innovative 4G Service
• Most Innovative Carrier WiFi Deployment
• Most Innovative Carrier Cloud Service
• Most Innovative Ethernet/Optical Service
• Most Innovative Video Service
• Outstanding Components Vendor *NEW*
• Outstanding Test & Measurement Vendor *NEW*
• Outstanding OSS/BSS Vendor *NEW*
• Company of the Year (Private)
• Company of the Year (Public)
• Best Deal Maker

In addition to these categories, Light Reading will be adding new names to the Hall of Fame, which recognizes those individuals, both the famous and the infamous, who have made a notable contribution to the global telecom sector. Nominations can be submitted for the Hall of Fame, though, unlike the 16 Leading Lights categories, the individuals considered for this particular accolade may find themselves nominated by Light Reading's editorial team.

The Leading Lights Awards winners and Light Reading Hall of Fame inductees will be announced at an awards dinner in Chicago (further details to follow) on Tuesday, June 17, to coincide with the Big Telecom Event (http://www.bigtelecomevent.com/chicago/). The deadline for Leading Lights entries and Light Reading Hall of Fame nominations is Monday, March 31, 2014. Finalists for the Leading Lights Awards will be announced on Light Reading on Monday, May 5, 2014. Judging is conducted by Light Reading's editors and the analyst team from Heavy Reading (http://www.heavyreading.com).

Further details about the awards, including links to the entry submission forms and our FAQ (frequently asked questions) page, can be found at
http://www.lightreading.com/leading-lights-2014/d/d-id/707551

To find out who won the Leading Lights in 2013, and to see how pleased the winners were, watch this short video:
http://www.lightreading.com/mobile/4g-lte/leading-lights-2013-winners-video/v/d-id/706063

To see why people refer to 'chicken suits' when they talk about the Leading Lights Awards dinner, see this revealing video of the 2013 party in New York City:
http://www.lightreading.com/leading-lights-2014/d/d-id/707551

And to see which individuals were inducted into the Light Reading Hall of Fame in 2013, watch this short video:
http://www.lightreading.com/carrier-sdn/sdn-architectures/hall-of-fame-2013/v/d-id/705908

About Light Reading
Light Reading (www.lightreading.com) combines its research-led online communities and targeted events portfolio to help those in the global communications industry make informed decisions. Lightreading.com is the ultimate source for telecom analysis for more than 350,000 subscribers each month, leading the media sector in terms of traffic, content, and reputation. Light Reading produces targeted communications events and focused one-day conferences each year for cable, mobile, and wireline executives across five continents.

Media Contact:
Meryl Franzman
Beyond Words Communications Inc.
[email protected] 
617 739 1769

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SOURCE Light Reading