Communications Day and Communications Alliance today announce the 2012 finalists in the ACOMMs, the premier awards for the communications industry – including the two execs who will go head-to-head for the prestigious Communications Ambassador title.

The ACOMM Awards are jointly presented by Communications Alliance and Communications Day and recognise excellence among communications industry participants including individuals, service providers, content providers, carriers, technology partners, consultants and third party suppliers.

Recognising exemplary achievement across 11 categories of endeavour, the awards and the finalists are representative of the industry’s transformation from provision of traditional fixed communications to available-anywhere advanced services and applications. Given the focus on customer service across the industry, the Customer Service category was split into two awards this year – one for Consumer and the other for Corporate/Business.  To add some mystery to the evening, the shortlist for the Environmental and Young Achiever Awards will not be announced in advance. The Communications Ambassador award will be contested by two nominees this year: Gilbert+Tobin lawyer Peter Leonard and M2 Telecommunications CEO Vaughan Bowen.

Communications Alliance CEO John Stanton said the activities underlying the nominations bore testimony to the strength of innovation that is driving the Australian communications industry. “There are great stories behind the commitment to excellence on display from all finalists. I congratulate and wish them well for the ACOMMS Awards night,” he said.

“The judges were extremely impressed with the incredibly high standard of nominations this year ,” added Decisive Publishing CEO and CommsDay founder Grahame Lynch. “This reflects well on an industry that is reaching new heights of excellence. We wish all finalists best of luck.” The ACOMMS will be presented at the 6th Annual ACOMMS Dinner on 26 July 2012 at the Sofitel Wentworth, Sydney, with Julia Zemiro as Master of Ceremonies.

AAPT is the 2012 title sponsor of the ACOMMS, with Optus, Telstra Enterprise & Government, Pipe Networks, VASP, KPMG, DGiT and Truman Hoyle also sponsoring the event.

2012 ACOMMS short list

Communications Ambassador

• Vaughan Bowen
• Peter Leonard

Innovation (Large)

• Huawei
• Optus
• Telstra

Innovation (SME)

• Netcomm Wireless
• Symbio Networks
• Vertel

Services to Industry: Professional Services

• Clayton Utz
• Herbert Geer
• Maddocks

Commitment to Customer Service: Consumer

• iiNet
• Internode
• Optus

Commitment to Customer Service: Corporate/Business

• AAPT
• AAPT (Charter)
• Vocus

Innovation in Content Delivery

• AAPT
• Internode

Partnerships for Growth

• Indigo Telecom/various
• Symbio/Australian Private Networks
• Telstra/Ericsson

Community Contribution

• Huawei
• Optus
• Southern Phone