Canada's Telecommunications Hall of Fame has announced the inductees for the Class of 2008 and it includes high-profile executives, business icons and inventors.

Lorne Abugov, founder of the Hall of Fame and a partner at Osler Hoskins Harcourt, notes that it's a banner year for the Hall. "While all of our Telecom Laureates deserve recognition, this year is particularly exciting because so many of the inductees are contemporary figures or leading-edge companies that inspire both our current industry and our country's future telecom leaders," he says.

David Colville, chair of the Hall of Fame's selections committee and an inductee in 2005, says "With every new Laureate we learn more about our history of innovation and leadership in an industry that helps people to communicate, spread ideas, save lives, democratize, increase efficiency and so much more."

The 2008 Telecom Laureates are:

• The Servants of the Public category - David Golden (Canada's First Satellite CEO)
• The Advocates and Academics category - Carol Stephenson (Master of Telecom Mediation and Advocacy)
• The Icons of Business category - David Simmonds and Sons (Two Generations of Radio Leaders) and Jim Balsillie (Captain Canada of Telecom Business);
• The Inventors and Innovators category - Mike Lazaridis (Canada's Modern-Day Telecom Wizard).

The Hall of Fame's Special Recognition Award for 2008 is being shared by the three western government telephone companies (and their successors), each of which celebrates century milestones this year: Manitoba Telephone System (now MTS Allstream), Saskatchewan Government Telephones (now SaskTel), and Alberta Government Telephones (now Telus).