Davies is awarded for his work in "packet switching"

Donald Davies' contributions, in particular his work on packet-switching, were recognised by the British Computer Society, which conferred on him the John Player Award in 1974 and a Distinguished Fellowship in 1975; he became its technical vice-president in 1983.

In 1975, British Computer Society confers on him a Distinguished Fellowship

He became the British Computer Society's Technical VP in 1983, and was appointed CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire)

In 1987, he became a Fellow of the Royal Society. He was also a visiting professor at Royal Holloway and Bedford New College at this time.