September 24, 2018 – New York City – The World Teleport Association (WTA) today announced that SD Government has achieved Tier 4 full certification of its Santa Paula (California) and Southbury (Connecticut) teleports under WTA’s Teleport Certification Program. Tier 4 is the highest quality level in the WTA standard.
Since its introduction at IBC 2015, the Certification program has quickly grown in popularity. Starting with one certified facility in 2015, the program has added 40 in 3 years, and currently has 12 teleports engaged in the quality evaluation process. Certifications have been issued to teleports operated by Eutelsat, du, Signalhorn, Optus, Globecomm, Horizon, Media Broadcast, Elara Comunicaciones, GlobalSat, Talia, Telenor, Vivacom, Cyta, Batelco, SingTel, CETel, Etisalat, Hawaii Pacific Teleport, Intelsat, Speedcast, Telstra and Arqiva. The industry has quickly adopted the transparent, independently verified standards as a means for teleports to differentiate themselves and for customers to choose the price-performance level suitable for their applications.
Full Certification under the WTA program is the result of a comprehensive data-collection and inspection process. A teleport operator completes a +170-item questionnaire and submits it to WTA. The Association analyzes the data based on standards established by its Certification Committee and issues the Provisional Certification based on the self-reported information. The teleport then has six months to achieve Full Certification. To achieve Full Certification under WTA’s program, an auditor is dispatched to visit the teleport, provide independent validation of the data submitted in the questionnaire, and identify additional factors that may positively or negatively affect the score. Full Certification is issued at a Tier number from 1 through 4, of which 4 represents the highest degree of excellence, and remains in effect for 3 years.
“WTA Tier 4 Teleport Certification has been SD Government’s goal since the beginning of the Teleport Certification Program and we are proud to be the first two in North America,” said president of SD Government David Greenhill. “SD Government continues to be a best in class service provider with a focus on premium customer service and operational flexibility. Our teleport staff has the technical capability to support a wide variety of network services as well as the personal skills to work with customers to meet a specific need.”
“Santa Paula and Southbury have become the 19th and 20th teleports to be fully certified by WTA and the first teleports in North America to gain full certification,” said executive director Robert Bell. “Satellite operators and end-customers are now including certification as a question in their RFPs, which increases the value of the program to teleport operators.”
WTA’s Teleport Certification Program serves both teleport operators and their customers by creating an objective, transparent, and internationally accepted method for teleport operators to document the quality of their operations for customers and strategic partners. It also provides a means for customers to select teleport vendors delivering the price-performance level that is appropriate for their applications. Click here for a list of certified teleports.
For more information about the Teleport Certification Program,
visit http://www.worldteleport.org/?page=Certification or email WTA Membership Director Randall Barney at [email protected].
About SD Government
SD Government brings over 40 years of experience in the Satellite Earth Station and Teleport industry during which it has demonstrated high availability and premium quality of service as well as on schedule performance.
The Santa Paula teleport is located 90 miles north of Los Angeles on the West Coast. The Southbury teleport is located on the East Coast, about 60 miles north of New York City. Each teleport has operated continuously for more than 40 years and both were built to high standards for providing life and safety services, along with a host of satellite system platforms from metrological data gathering to advanced navigation systems. As such, they are secure facilities connected to multiple terrestrial fiber networks and act as backup for each other through both terrestrial and satellite transmission pathways. Both facilities are data centers equipped with advanced satellite antennas and equipment backed up with automated and redundant electrical power sources, redundant HVAC systems, automatic fire detection and suppression systems, security systems and 24/7/365 network operations centers. The teleports
are critical links in delivering the complete connectivity chain.
In addition to growing the teleports’ capabilities through technological advancements, SD Government is part of the Satcom Direct (SD) family of companies, which further expands its offerings. SD Government, with the SD Data Center, has been working to provide secure, comprehensive, integrated connectivity solutions to help organizations stay connected, no matter the environment or circumstances. SD Government’s teleports, a critical component in this process, have evolved to keep pace with changing communications needs in any situation.
The SD Data Center, wholly owned by SD, brings enterprise-level cybersecurity capabilities to data transmissions in the air, on the ground and over water. The SD Data Center also provides industry compliant data center solutions, and business continuity planning for numerous industries including healthcare, education, financial, military, government and technology.
SD Government also offers a wide variety of satellite phone, mobile satellite Internet units and fixed satellite Internet units. SD Government Land and Mobile services ensure SATCOM connectivity is available no matter how remote the location or how limited the cellular and data network coverage may be.
About World Teleport Association
Since 1985, the World Teleport Association (www.worldteleport.org) has focused on improving the business of satellite communications from the ground up. At the core of its membership are the world’s most innovative operators of teleports, from independents to multinationals, niche service providers to global carriers. WTA is dedicated to advocating for the interests of teleport operators in the global telecommunications market and promoting excellence in teleport business practice, technology and operations.
Matthew Owen
Communications Manager
World Teleport Association
[email protected]
212-825-0218 x105
