Small Cell Forum (SCF) has announced three new categories for the SCF Mobile Network Awards for 2027, reflecting areas of growing deployment and innovation across the small cell and wider mobile network ecosystem. The three new categories, introduced alongside six existing categories covering the wider small cell and DAS industry, are Excellence in innovation for enterprise networks, Excellence in innovation for outdoor/city connectivity, and Outstanding application of FAPI and nFAPI. Entries are now open and accepted until 30th March 2027. Winners will be announced during Small Cells World Summit on 25th May 2027 in London.
SCF’s Market Forecast Report 2026 identified enterprise in-building networks as the largest small cell deployment environment, while also forecasting growing momentum in public outdoor networks. At the same time, Local Authorities and municipalities are becoming increasingly important stakeholders in enabling outdoor small cell deployment. These two categories will showcase innovation in the technologies, operations or business case for enterprise or city small cell and DAS networks.
In addition, SCF’s FAPI and nFAPI specifications are also being applied across a growing range of network architectures and use cases. The third new category will for the first time recognise the applications of the 5G FAPI suite across the eco-system.
SCF Chair, Dr. Prabhakar Chitrapu, said:
“The SCF Mobile Network Awards celebrate technical innovation and commercial success across the industry, and our categories need to reflect how the market is evolving. From enterprise networks and outdoor deployments to the growing use of FAPI and nFAPI, these new categories recognise some of the areas where we are seeing significant innovation and progress. Meanwhile our existing categories continue to showcase everything from small cell products and software to contributions to emerging technologies and neutral host platforms”
Three new categories for 2027
- Excellence in innovation for enterprise networks recognises innovation in small cell network design and deployment, as well as new use cases and applications. Enterprise is the largest segment of the small cell market, with strong growth forecast across most markets, and continues to deliver some of the industry’s most significant innovations.
- Excellence in innovation for outdoor/city connectivity recognises the growing involvement of Local Authorities and municipalities in outdoor small cell deployment, reflected in the launch of SCF’s Local Authority Connectivity Group. The category provides an opportunity for Local Authorities and their deployment partners to make joint submissions showcasing innovation in city deployments.
- Outstanding application of FAPI and nFAPI recognises innovative use cases and applications of SCF’s FAPI and nFAPI specifications across the industry. The category reflects the growing use of SCF’s FAPI and nFAPI specifications, which support interoperability between physical layer and higher-layer functions in mobile networks, including virtualised and disaggregated architectures.
For more than a decade, the SCF Mobile Network Awards, have recognised technical innovation and commercial success across the small cell and wireless connectivity industries. The awards are independently judged by leading industry analysts and journalists and are open to the whole industry, not only SCF members. Entrants include mobile network operators, neutral hosts, private network operators, software, hardware and chipset vendors, with submission now also welcomed directly from Local Authorities, Municipalities and Enterprises.
Full list of SCF Mobile Network Awards 2027 categories
- Excellence in commercial deployment by a service provider (including MNO, neutral host or private network operator)
- Outstanding software and services product/technology
- Outstanding hardware and components product/technology
- Outstanding contribution to open platforms and embedded AI in networks development
- Outstanding contribution to emerging technologies
- Outstanding progress in enabling neutral host and multi-operator business models
- Excellence in innovation for enterprise networks
- Excellence in innovation for outdoor/city connectivity (Local Authorities and municipalities)
- Outstanding application of FAPI and nFAPI
- Judges’ Choice
Entries will be assessed by an independent judging panel comprising Caroline Gabriel, Industry Analyst and SCF Content Director; Simon Saunders, industry expert and Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering; Monica Paolini, Founder and Analyst at Senza Fili; Sue Rudd, Analyst and Director at BBand Communications; Sean Kinney, industry analyst and editor of RCR Wireless; and Keith Dyer, Editor and Founder of The Mobile Network.
To find out more about the categories and submit an entry, visit the SCF Mobile Network Awards 2027 webpage: https://www.smallcellforum.org/awards-2027/
