The evening of black tie glamour saw winners in 15 categories take to the stage.
Following a lavish three-course meal, the ceremony began with Fibertech scooping the prestigious best metro provider award for East-North to mid-Atlantic.
The company’s growth into six new markets in 2013, as well as its investment in 100G Ethernet in the region, made it a stand-out winner for the judges.
For the same category in the south of the US, Bluebird Networks was awarded as the best metro provider for the region, in a hotly contested category.
Fibertech’s CEO, John Purcell, claimed the prestigious CEO of the year award for his contribution to the company’s milestone of surpassing $100 million EBITDA last year.
With an impressive strategy for connecting rural and remote Canada, as well as being the first rural carrier to receive MEF 2.0 certification, it was WireIE that walked away with the best rural connectivity award.
“This is a milestone accomplishment for us at WireIE, and it serves to validate the excellent work that we have been doing over the past few years in Canada’s rural and remote regions,” said Rob Barlow, president and CEO at the company.
“We take pride in the fact that our networks facilitate all of today’s mission-critical business applications, which change the way of doing business in Canada’s underserved markets,” he added.
Also recognised for its contribution to the metro market was Allied Fiber, which won project of the year for its recently completed, 360-mile fibre route between Miami and Jacksonville.
“This award signifies the positive sentiment of the industry towards what we are doing,” said Jason Cohen, president and COO at Allied Fiber, who collected the award. “We are honoured to be recognised for our accomplishments.”
Mergers and acquisitions have played a key part in the consolidation of the metro market over the last 12 months and this was recognised with best strategic acquisition awards in both small and large categories.
Zayo’s acquisition of Access Communications won the small acquisition category whilst Time Warner Cable’s (TWC) acquisition of DukeNet scooped the large acquisition prize.
Zayo acquired Access Communications in August last year, in a move which secured the company an additional 1,200 miles of metro fibre, and – paired with its acquisition of AboveNet in July 2012 – significantly expanded its network geography.
Similarly, TWC notably enlarged its network reach with the acquisition of DukeNet in January this year.
The $600 million acquisition saw TWC add over 8,700 miles across North and South Carolina to its network map, as well as provide it with a solid base to strengthen its business services division.
“Our robust, dense fibre network is a key advantage for meeting the complex needs of customers and DukeNet has expanded and strengthened our portfolio and reach,” said Stephanie Anderson, SVP and CMO at TWC business services.
Another area addressed by the introductory event this year was innovation, a key strategy for wholesale carriers operating in the market today.
Global Capacity secured the award for best service innovation for its One Marketplace solution, designed to provide customers with flexibility, speed and service options to deliver cost-effective Ethernet services worldwide.
“The win symbolises a testament to One Marketplace’s tremendous acceptance and positive impact on the market,” a statement from the company read.
As well as focussing on market developments, the ceremony also paid its dues to those working to promote these developments.
Hibernia Networks won the award for best PR campaign, as judges recognised the marketing that went behind the company’s evolution from being known as Hibernia Atlantic.
In partnership with JSA, the company has developed a comprehensive marketing and communications plan to outline its key message of being a fully global operation.
One of the last awards of the night saw DE-CIX take home the judge’s award for its recent expansion and investment in the US market, with the judging committee highlighting the company’s future potential in the metro industry.
