SingTel, Optus clinch top prizes

SINGAPORE: SingTel, SingTel Optus of Australia, KTF and KT Corp. of Korea, and Malaysia's Maxis Communications won the top prizes Tuesday at the sixth Telecom Asia Awards.

SingTel won Best Asian Telecom Carrier and Sydney-based subsidiary SingTel Optus was recognized as Best Asian Competitive Carrier. Optus chief executive Chris Anderson was chosen as Best Asian Telecom CEO.

It was the sixth consecutive win for SingTel in the Best Asian Telecom Carrier category.

But this year's awards were dominated by first-timers. Operators making their first appearance in the winners ranks won eight of the 10 carrier categories.

Korean incumbent KT Corp. won the inaugural Best Asian Broadband Provider and ISP award, and affiliate KTF won the Best Asian CDMA category, while Maxis took the Best Asian GSM Carrier award. -- DPA