This post was written in collaboration with Liz Kerton who is the President of The Telecom Council of Silicon Valley. We wanted to provide more background on the importance of being nominated to the SPIFFY awards and why they are not only relevant for Zuberance but for the Telecommunications Industry as a whole. Zuberance was nominated to Best Communication Solution. Here is the complete list of nominees.
Can you please explain to us how the Telecom Council SPIFFY awards were started? What’s the driving force behind them?
The SPIFFY Awards came about for 2 reasons. Firstly, because the 20+ carrier who make up the Service Provider Innovation Forum (SPIF), which has been meeting monthly since 2001, wanted to recognize the many good entrepreneurs that are pushing the Telecom industry forward. The second reason is to get the word out that The Telecom Council, of which SPIF is one Forum, is an excellent tool for telecom startups to touch many carriers at once.
What companies are supporting the Telecom Council of Silicon Valley and why?
The Telecom Council serves over 500 companies each year, through 40 meetings and several online tools. Of those 500, we have 75 member companies which cross the entire telecom ecosystem – from fixed to wireless, from major carriers to self-funded startups, and from global conglomerates to local entrepreneurs. All of our members are listed on our website along with attendee lists from meetings past. I would like to call special attention to our Executive Members however, since they guide the Council and our activities: Swisscom, Qualcomm, HP, Huawei, Ericsson, Norwest Venture Partners, and Fuse Capital.
What is the role of the Telecom Council of Silicon Valley within the industry?
Our role is to bring people together – I know that sounds like a dating service, but the purpose of getting the right people together is to improve the knowledge and communication across all different parts of telecom and move the Industry forward as a whole. We put the right decision makers in the room, and they do the rest. Simply look at our attendee lists online, and you will see what I mean.
Why should people care about the SPIFFY awards?
A SPIFFY Award indicates that a company has a solid, quantified interest from a group of over 20 carriers from around the world. It doesn’t guarantee success, but it does indicate that several operators see promise in the product or service. That means a lot to a telecom startup and should help them attract investment and customers.
See details for the event here
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