GSM Association Awards 2005 entries to open on Wednesday 8th September



Leading global mobile awards celebrate tenth anniversary



London, UK -/06 September, 2004 - Wi-Fi Technology News/- The GSM Association Awards 2005 will this week open for entry. Celebrating their tenth year with a number of new categories, the Awards uniquely offer organisations across the world the opportunity to showcase the life changing, life enhancing and life saving wireless products, services and initiatives that have come to characterise GSM.

The Awards are open to all industry players - mobile operators, device manufacturers, application developers, billing system providers, CRM solution providers, infrastructure providers, content aggregators, originators and providers - who offer content, products or services that run on GSM, GPRS, EDGE and 3GSM (W-CDMA) networks.


Entries can be made on-line at www.gsmawards.com. Winners will be announced at the 2005 GSM Association Awards Gala Dinner at the 3GSM World Congress, in Cannes, France on Tuesday 15th February 2005.


New categories for 2005 include:

? Best 3GSM Handset ? created to showcase developments in the 3GSM handset arena

? Best Mobile Messaging Service ? designed to recognise innovation in the fast evolving field of mobile messaging

? Best use of Mobile for Special Needs and Accessibility ? created to bring more focus on how mobile is being used to enhance the lives of people with special needs

? Best Billing or Customer Care Network Solution ? to recognise best in class solutions that support network operators in improving the customer experience

? Best Mobile Entertainment Content or Service ? designed to spotlight companies at the cutting edge of the mobile entertainment space

? Best use of Mobile for Sustainability ? a category specifically for initiatives aimed at maximising the benefits of mobile to society while minimising its impact on the environment


With the traditional categories gaining in popularity year on year, 2005 is expected to attract a record number of entries. The GSM Association Awards have become the most respected mark of excellence in the industry, and winners of the 2005 Awards will have access to a new range of opportunities to promote their success. The full list of categories can be found at http://www.gsmworld.com/awards/categories.html

Rob Conway, GSM Association CEO and Member of the Board, said: ?There were 15 million GSM users worldwide at the time of the inaugural awards in 1996. By the tenth Awards, the figure is likely to have grown to around 1.2 billion. Over the years, these Awards have recognised many of the ingenious and innovative individuals and companies who have contributed to this phenomenal success story.?


?As the convergence of mobile and the internet gathers pace, the changes to the categories for 2005 will ensure that the GSMA Awards identify the innovative products and services that will help connect the next billion users.?


About the GSM Association:
The GSM Association (GSMA) is the global trade association that exists to promote, protect and enhance the interests of GSM mobile operators throughout the world. At the end of May 2004, it consisted of 640 second and third generation mobile operators and more than 140 manufacturers and suppliers. The Association's members provide mobile services to approaching 1.1 billion customers across more than 200 countries and territories around the world. The GSMA aims to accelerate the implementation of collectively identified, commercially prioritised operator requirements and to take leadership in representing the global GSM mobile operator community with one voice on a wide variety of issues nationally, regionally and globally.



The GSM family of wireless communications platforms, including GSM, GPRS (General Packet Radio Services) and 3GSM (EDGE - Enhanced Data for GSM Evolution and W CDMA) account for 73 percent of the total digital wireless market today. The GSM Association is a unique organisation, with truly global reach, offering a full range of business, technical and public policy services to its members. For more information, visit the website at http://www.gsmworld.com.


The GSM Association's Board comprises the following operator companies and multinational groups: AT&T Wireless Group; China Mobile; China Unicom; Hutchison Group; KTF; Maxis Mobile; mmO2 Group; NTT DoCoMo, Inc.; Orange Group; Orascom Telecom Group; SFR Cegetel; SingTel Group; SUNDAY Communications Ltd; Taiwan Cellular; Telef?nica M?viles Group; Telenor Mobile Group; TeliaSonera Group; TIM (Telecom Italia Mobile) Group; T-Mobile Group; Turkcell and the Vodafone Group. The Board also includes the GSMA's CEO and Chairman of the Executive Management Committee.