After weeks of intense judging activities, the shortlisted nominees for the 2nd MobileWorld Ghana Telecom Awards is out. A statement from award organizers, MobileWorld Magazine indicates there are 17 competitive awards, and four special awards dubbed the Publisher’s Choice awards. The categories are phone of the year, telecom operator of the year, telecom vendor of the year, wholesale provider of the year, best innovative mobile product of the year, best mobile content, best mobile money, best telecom brand, infrastructure company of the year, and best Internet Service Provider (ISP) of the year. The rest are marketing campaign, best CSR telecom company, best use of IT in banking, best ICT company of the year, best business service of the year, best customer care of the year, and CEO of the year. (List of nominees below). The four special non-competitive awards are special recognition for commitment to the telecom industry, women in ICT award, young ICT entrepreneur award, and the prestigious MobileWorld Lifetime Achievement Award. But of all the awards, the most enviable are the telecom brand of the year, which Vodafone won last year; customer service of the year, which Airtel won last year; CEO of the year, which Airtel won last year; and of course the telecom operator of the year which was most deservingly grabbed by market leader MTN. This year’s event is also slated for April 20, 2012 at the plush Holiday Inn Hotel in Accra, and it would recognize and reward individuals and organizations at the forefront of telecoms industry in Ghana. It promises to be a memorable gala night, poised to be the biggest gathering of senior telecom executives in the country. Event organizer and Group Publisher of MobileWorld Magazine, Akin Naphtal said “the prestigious awards will be announced to an audience of Ghana’s most influential telecom and business decision-makers at a fantastic evening of fine dining and entertainment.” “I can assure you that this event will not only recognize organizations and personalities, it will also be a platform for networking with stakeholders in the industry,” he said. Mr. Naphtal said the awards will also help build healthy relationships among competitors and provide an opportunity to reward deserving staff, as well as providing a unique social environment to network with peers. He said the awards are essential because they recognize the efforts of those who are investing in the ICT/Telecom industry in Ghana. The Ghana Telecom awards are open to Telecom Mobile operators, ICT Organizations, MVNOs and Banks operating in Ghana The following are the 2012 nominees Phone of the of year ● Blackberry ● Nokia ● Samsung ● Tecno Telecom Operator of the Year ● Airtel ● MTN ● Tigo ● Vodafone Telecom Vendor of The Year ● Ericsson ● Huawei ● Nokia Siemens ● Alcatel Lucent Wholesale provider of the Year ● Mainone Cable ● Vodafone ● Glo 1 Best innovative mobile product of the year ● MTN/Esoko -M-Agric Service ● Tigo/ MicroEnsure - Mobile Insurance ● Forgetmenot Africa FMNA and Ghana National Association of Farmers and Fishermen (GNAFF) ● Cocoalink/DreamOval/COCOBOD/World Education Ghana/ World Cocoa Foundation Best Mobile Content Provider ● Dreamoval ● SMSGH ● Mobile Content ● Rancard Solutions Best Mobile Money Service ● Airtel Money ● MTN Mobile Money ● Tigo Cash Best Telecom Brand ● Airtel ● MTN ● Tigo ● Vodafone Infrastructure Company of the Year ● America Tower Company ● Eaton Tower ● Helios tower ● ihs Best ISP of the year ● Busy Internet ● Zipnet ● Vodafone ● Teledata Best Marketing Campaign ● Airtel ● MTN ● Tigo ● Vodafone Bes CSR Telecom Operator ● Airtel ● MTN Ghana ( MTN Foundation) ● Tigo Foundation ● Vodafone Ghana Foundation Best use of IT in Banking ● GTBank ● Zenith Bank ● Fidelity ● Adb bank Best ICT Company of the Year ● rlg ● IPMC ● Electro land ● Zepto Best Business Service of the Year ● MTN Business ● Vodafone Business Solutions ● Airtel (Airtel Ghana Enterprise Solutions) Best Customer Care Company ● Airtel ● MTN ● Tigo ● Vodafone Ghana CEO of the year ● Phillip Sowah,CEO, Airtel Ghana ● Carlos Caceres, Tigo Ghana ● Kyle Whitehill, Vodafone Ghana ● Michael Ikpoki -CEO, MTN Ghana PUBLISHER’S CHOICE • Special Recognition To The Telecom Industry • Women in ICT Award • Young ICT Entrepreneur Award • MobileWorld Lifetime Achievement Award