Exceptional vision and achievements, leadership, and technical excellence were among the qualities recognized during Broadband Forum’s annual awards, with Kevin Foster, of BT, receiving two accolades – Distinguished Fellow Award and Leadership Award – for more than ten years of service and expertise.
Serving as Chairman since 2012, Foster joined Broadband Forum board in 2008 before being made President 2011. He has made significant contributions during this time and played a key role in transforming the Forum from a traditional standards development organization into an agile, collaborative and open association.
“I’m truly honored to receive these awards, which mean all the more for coming from my esteemed Broadband Forum colleagues,” said Foster. “Since joining the Forum, we have seen a remarkable and rapid evolution of the broadband landscape; I am proud to have played the role that I have in an organization which has been key in making the market what it is today.”
Foster has more than 35 years’ experience in the design and development of wireline digital transmission in BT’s access network and international telecommunication standards. During his career, he has been very active in telecommunication standardization in ETSI, FSAN, ITU-T, ATIS, Broadband Forum and the UK’s NICC. Foster has published many technical papers and standards contributions, as well as contributing to several books and patents on aspects of DSL and Access engineering.
Howard Watson, Chief Technology and Information Officer of BT, said: “The importance of standards in both the past, present and future of our broadband industry cannot be underestimated and Kevin’s work is an excellent example of why operators should get involved.”
Other award recipients at Broadband Forum’s Q1 meeting included Jason Walls, of QA Cafe, who was presented with a Distinguished Fellow Award for his technical excellence and significant and long-standing contributions. Kenneth Wan, of Nokia, received a Circle of Excellence Award for his instrumental work in the Access and Transport Architecture Work Area and Wireline-Wireless Convergence Work Area.
Recognizing outgoing, commendable Work Area Directors or Board members, Leadership Awards were presented to Chris Croot, formerly of BT, Director of the SDN NFV Work Area, and Ken Ko, of ADTRAN.
Outstanding Contributor Awards were given to Daniel Egger, of Axiros, Robert Peschi, of Nokia, Hugh Singleton, of BT, and Jonathan Newton, of Vodafone. Tim Carey, of Nokia, received his second Outstanding Contributor award to reflect his continued commitment to progressing broadband standards.
“As we look towards the next era of connectivity, these latest achievements reinforce the importance of standardization in a rapidly evolving broadband ecosystem and highlight the innovation and commitment that is at the heart of Broadband Forum,” said Broadband Forum CEO Robin Mersh. “A special thank you goes to Kevin who is a deserved recipient of our two most prestigious accolades.”
