BeaconSeek Ltd, a UK-based satellite consultancy and training company, has announced that SES, a leading provider of fixed satellite services, has purchased a substantial number of training places on BeaconSeek's SlingPath SNG (satellite news gathering) online training program as part of the satellite industry's Satellite Interference Initiative to reduce satellite Radio Frequency Interference (RFI).

Interference is a growing problem in the satellite community, globally affecting broadcasters and viewers alike, and a key component of the Satellite Interference Initiative is increasing SNG uplinking expertise through more training and certification. SlingPath is BeaconSeek's innovative competency-based online SNG training and certification program, which is used by a number of broadcasters including Fox News, ABC News, C-SPAN, Al Jazeera, and Nine Network Australia, as well as by many freelance SNG operators. The SlingPath course is aimed at the absolute beginner to intermediate level, taking the student through the basics of satellites, how they are used in newsgathering, the various key technical parameters and critical component parts of an SNG system, and how to work with satellites.

The SlingPath presentation of the material is highly graphical, interactive and user-friendly, with even potentially complex subjects presented in a fashion that makes it approachable to even the most techno-phobic participants. In particular, the program has been designed for those who are required to operate the latest generation of 'auto-pointing' SNG systems, which enable operators with negligible training to access satellite capacity, but in doing so masks a significant amount of the technical aspects of the actions being undertaken. SlingPath was launched in 2007 by BeaconSeek in collaboration with e-Blended Learning Solutions of New Zealand, specialists in designing web-based training for remote learning applications. SlingPath has been endorsed by both SUIRG (Satellite Users Interference Reduction Group) and WBU-ISOG (World Broadcasting Union - International Satellite Operations Group) as meeting their high standards for the training of operatives in SNG.