Small Cell Forum (SCF) last week announced that the SCF Small Cell Awards 2021 are now open for entries. With ten categories – half of them new for 2021 – the event provides an opportunity for the industry to recognize and celebrate excellence and innovation in all aspects of commercial network deployment in the 5G era.
The SCF Small Cell Awards are judged independently by a panel of industry analysts and journalists. Entries close at 11:59 p.m. GMT on Friday, March 19, and firms can submit entries here.
The Award categories have been refreshed for 2021, with greater emphasis on Open RAN technologies and some new additions to reward commercial success or innovative approaches by non-traditional deployers, service providers and vendors.
Chair of Judges Caroline Gabriel, Co-founder of Rethink Research, said: “With new categories recognizing the growing importance of shared and neutral host networks and technical innovation in chipsets and other components, these Awards reflect many of the key initiatives SCF has prioritized over the past 12 months.
SCF is the trade association for small cell vendors, network infrastructure providers, service providers and operators working towards network densification. Its work program is focused on accelerating small cell adoption and driving wide-scale cellular network densification.
Categories are:
- Excellence in commercial deployment by an MNO
- Excellence in commercial deployment by an alternative service provider – e.g., private network operator, neutral host
- Commercial Small Cell (Network) Products & Technology
- Software and Services – Management, Orchestration and Automation
- Innovation in emerging technology or architecture
- Outstanding innovation in chips or components to enable small cell network
- Outstanding Innovation in Small Cell Business Case
- Commercial product or service to enable multi-operator and neutral host business models
- Outstanding Contribution to Small Cell Open RAN platforms or standards
- Social Impact – Promoting Small Cells for Social/Economic/Environmental Development
- Special Category – Judges’ Choice
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