South African to judge at Global Mobile Awards in Barcelona

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Mongezi Mtati

Taking place in Barcelona on Tuesday, 28 February 2012, in conjunction with the annual Mobile World Congress, the Global Mobile Awards have again selected South African Bradley Shaw, managing editor at Africa Telecoms magazine, as a judge.

Bradley Shaw

This year, he will select the winner of the Best Infrastructure Technology category. Last year, he judges the 'Best use of Mobile for Social and Economic Development', which was won by Ericsson and Flexenclosure for Ericsson Community Power.

The Best Infrastructure Technology class covers notable enhancements and developments in the critical elements of the mobile network, the Radio Access Network (RAN) and CN (Core Network). These are the twin turbines in the engine room of any mobile operator's network and are paramount to the service offering.

Represent the critical components

The RAN and Core constitute the major part of investment in network development and expansion for operators and represent the critical components for efficient operations. It is a subject that has generated much debate in recent months. The recent AfricaCom 2011 Congress, held in Cape Town in November 2011, highlighted just how rapidly Africa is bridging the digital divide and playing a significant role on the world communication stage.

There are a record number of entries for the Awards in 2012 "with over 40 companies in the Best Infrastructure Technology category alone" commented Shaw. "Judging each entry takes significant commitment which I am only happy to do as this is our African voice being heard in the global telecoms industry."