Presented at the prestigious Communications Alliance ACOMMS Awards in Sydney, the 2008 Telecommunications Ambassador accolade is awarded each year to an outstanding individual who has shown strong leadership and made a significant and visible contribution to the Australian communications industry.

Simon has taken a leadership role in Australia's broadband sector since its emergence in 2000-2001. He is an activist company leader who is driven to deliver customer value and technical innovation as well as achieve commercial success for Internode.

By building a first-tier international broadband network, Simon has established Internode as one of Australia's premier suppliers of high-reliability broadband services for both business and residential customers. Significantly for the communications industry, Simon has maintained Internode at the forefront of innovation, playing a catalyst role through a range of initiatives that include:

• Deployment of an extensive WiFi hotspot network, now called CityLan, across the Adelaide CBD starting in 2003 and now being expanded nationally
• Establishing the joint-venture cine-net national high speed network for Australian filmmakers in 2004
• The launch of Australia's first commercial ADSL2+ broadband service in April 2005
  
• Delivery of Internode Business Connect Private IP services as the 21st Century alternative to traditionally expensive Frame Relay services
• The doubling of broadband upload speeds by the Australian-first launch of ADSL2+ Annex M protocol-based services in 2007
• Deploying Australia's first region-wide WiMAX network on the Yorke Peninsula in late 2007.

Other winners of ACOMMS awards included Alcatel-Lucent, Herbert Geer, Telarus, Telstra, Unwired and Uecomm. A full listing of this year's award finalists and their accomplishments is available from the www.commsalliance.com.au website.

Related Links

• Simon's Internode Management Profile
• Simon's Personal Homepage