Connected Britain 2024: The Award Winners 

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The Connected Britain Awards took place last night after a busy first day of the event. Hundreds joined us for an evening of networking and highly anticipated winner announcements. We had a record-breaking number of entries this year, reflecting Britain’s ever-growing and rapidly evolving digital economy.  

Our shortlist this year represented a fantastic array of diverse organisations and individuals, with the traditional big players being joined by many organisations of varying sizes from all corners of Britain.  

The awards recognise the most significant and innovative organisations, solutions and programmes that are shaping Britain’s digital future.  It is a clear reflection of how the whole digital economy is now working towards the same goal of improving lives through connectivity.  

 

From the latest technological innovations to the most impactful community initiatives, the Connected Britain Awards strives to highlight excellence in every corner of the UK.   

A big thanks to all our award presenters, our generous sponsors and the excellent panel of judges, who spent the last number of months analysing entries for each of the 15 categories.  

Onto the awards… 

 

B2B Service Provider of the Year 

The winner in this category introduced a broad range of exciting new B2B solutions this year, as well as a new Partner Programme that has already welcomed over 100 registered partners.  

WINNER: PlatformX Communications (PXC) 

The finalists were: 

CovertSwarm 

Evolve B G Limited 

NETS International 

Texaport 

ZAYO – Fibre Backhaul 

 

Broadband Provider of the Year 

For this category, the judges were looking for a broadband provider that not only delivers excellent service to customers but goes the extra mile in helping them on their digital journey. The winner has done exactly that, helping to transform previously underserved locations in the UK. 

WINNER: Wildanet 

The finalists were:  

Brsk 

Fibrus Broadband 

Lightning Fibre 

Truespeed Communications 

Wessex Internet 

Zzoomm 

 

Digital Council of the Year 

Local councils have become a vital part of Connected Britain and the winner in this category has shown exceptional leadership. Their entry included a huge number of successful projects, from deploying 5G and fibre infrastructure to using drones to deliver medical equipment. 

WINNER: Coventry City Council 

The finalists were: 

Cornwall Council 

Glasgow City Council 

Kent County Council 

Norfolk County Council 

 

Digital Skills Award 

The lack of digital skills is becoming a major challenge in the UK, threatening to deepen the digital divide. 

The winning entry in this category brought together volunteers, partners, and council staff to tackle this issue head-on, with some very impressive results. 

WINNER: Wigan Council’s TechMate digital skills initiative 

The finalists were: 

Kent County Council – Digital Kent 

Norfolk County Council—Tech Skills for Life 

Three UK & Three Discovery, Power up the Possibilities 

Trafford Council 

We Are Group & Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames 

Wigan Council’s TechMate digital skills initiative 

 

Enterprise Solution of the Year 

The winner in this category is helping the telecoms industry deliver on one of the most exciting initiatives in the UK, with huge implications for the market and for customers across the country. 

WINNER: SONALAKE, pivOTS 

The finalists were: 

Calix – Broadband Platform 

Colt – Intent-based Networking Optimisation 

Deepomatic – First Time Right Automation platform 

Digitalnauts & HoloPlan 

Evolve B G Limited 

SuLe – Sule Hub Limited 

 

Project Rollout Award 

The winner in this category needs no introduction, with its rollout continuing to go from strength to strength, even in the face of a challenging economic environment over the past year. 

WINNER: CityFibre 

The finalists were: 

4 Fibre Limited 

Freedom Fibre Ltd 

NETS International 

Openreach, Fibre Build plan 

“Virgin Media O2 & Deloitte – Smart Planning tool  

 

The Access Innovation Award 

The winner of this category is doing some amazing work across the country, including here in London. In fact, many of you may have used their infrastructure on your way to Connected Britain today… 

WINNER: Boldyn Networks 

The finalists were: 

ACOME Group’s Nanomodule ultra lightweight (ULW) fibre cable 

The AssetHUB Ltd 

Network on Wheels via the The One Word Project – Partnership between Worcestershire County Council, Virtuser and Telet 

Nokia – Corteca 

Openreach (Scotland’s Fair Isle) 

Pangea Connected, global cellular IoT connectivity solutions 

 

The Barrier Removal Award 

The winner in this category has taken an innovative approach to removing barriers for infrastructure deployment, creating a dedicated unit to spearhead public–private collaboration.  

WINNER: Glasgow City Council Telecoms Unit 

The finalists were: 

4 Fibre Limited 

Dalcour Maclaren – High Level Design review/ Land Rights Assessment 

Freedom Fibre Ltd 

MapAll, MapAll Blockages 

Swansea Bay City Deal Digital Infrastructure Programme and Local Authority Digital Champion Teams at Swansea Council, Carmarthenshire County Council, Pembrokeshire County Council and Neath Port Talbot Council 

 

The Community Improvement Award 

The idea that quality connectivity should benefit everyone in society is at the heart of this category’s winning entry. The winner showcased a wide range of initiatives to ensure no one is left behind on their digital journey.  

WINNER: Sunderland City Council’s Digital Inclusion Programme supported by Boldyn Networks 

The finalists were: 

BeFibre 

Cefnogi’ community engagement programme 

#CovConnects Coventry City Council 

Commsworld and SmartSTEMs: Inspiring The Next Generation 

Fibrus 

 

The Full Fibre ISP Innovation Award 

The winning ISP in this category has made great progress in the past year, expanding its customer base significantly thanks to great customer service and close collaboration with communities at all levels. 

WINNER: Brsk 

The finalists were: 

Gigabit IQ from Grayshott Gigabit Limited 

ITS Technology Group 

Ogi Pro 

Wifinity 

Zzoomm 

 

The Industrial Innovation Award 

High quality connectivity can play a huge role in health and safety in an industrial setting. The winner of this category showcased a wearable solution providing real-time data about workers and their environment, keeping everyone connected and protected.  

WINNER: Blackline Safety 

The finalists were: 

aql 

INNO Instrument 

Magdalene 

 

The Rising Star Award 

This was a highly competitive category, with many amazing entrants from across the industry. Our winner this year has had a huge impact on their organization, spearheading changes to the company’s operating model and helping to deliver savings of over £50 million. 

WINNER: Sophie Dunstan, Openreach 

The finalists were: 

Alan Cutler, Home Unity 

Jamie Sandles, V4 Cloud 

James Armstrong, National Grid 

Natalie Rowley, Truespeed Communications 

Ramona McGarry, Coventry City Council 

 

The Sustainability Award 

Sustainability has been a key them here at Connected Britain and the winner in this category is going to great lengths to reduce their carbon footprint and that of their entire supply chain. 

WINNER: Openreach Limited, Carbon Reduction Programme 

The finalists were: 

Cable and Things – Sustainable Draw Rope 

M Group Services’ Telecom Division 

Openreach Limited, Carbon Reduction Programme 

PlatformX Communications (PXC) 

STL – EcoLabelled Methodology in OFC manufacturing 

Technetix, in partnership with Virgin Media O2 

TXO 

Wildanet 

 

The Wireless Innovation Award 

Our final winner overcame major deployment challenges to deliver quality mobile connectivity to some of the UK’s most remote areas. The results exceeded their partner’s expectations, with the project being expanded as we go into 2025. 

WINNER: Blackspot Networks Ltd 

The finalists were: 

Iris-iot Solutions Ltd 

Mobile Private Network (MPN) by AWTG Ltd. 

 

The Startup of the Year Award 

WINNER: Connected 

The finalists were: 

Zim Connection

YWE Media

EV Mobiliti

Appella AI

Polaris Safety

Thinking Machine

Qomodo

HalleyX

Lumilinks 



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