Considering that the World Teleport Association's (WTA) certification program began as recently as 2015, there are now a total of 40 teleports that have been certified at various tiers. The latest to pass the tests is Axesat, which has achieved provisional certification of its Bogota, Colombia Teleport under WTA’s Teleport Certification Program.
Since its introduction at IBC 2015, the Certification program has quickly grown beginning with one certified facility in 2015, the program has added 40 in three years, and currently has 12 teleports engaged in the quality evaluation process.
Certifications have been issued to teleports operated by Eutelsat, du, COMSAT, 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.
The process to achieve Provisional Certification, begins with a teleport operator who 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 one through four, of which four represents the highest degree of excellence, and remains in effect for three years.
Clara Garcia the VP Service Experience stated that they at Axesat focus their efforts on providing the best possible service experience to their customers throughout all interactions over the duration of the relationship. Therefore receiving this certification from the WTA is very satisfying as it reinforces their purpose and allows them to continue consolidating their position as leaders in the Latin America market.
Pablo Hoyos VP Operations and Product added that through their 15 years in the industry they have learned that service experience is not only created through commercial or support interactions, it is the result of the vision and strategic focus of the company. This is why they are permanently investing in resources, infrastructure and training to guarantee a consistent positive experience for their customers across the organization.
Executive director Robert Bell concluded that certification supplies the crucial missing answer to the teleport customer’s biggest question: what quality of service will I really receive? Independent, standards-based evaluation and validation sets teleport operators apart and assures customers that they will receive the price-performance outcome they expect.
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.